Earlier this month Decatur’s school board voted itself a stipend raise that will take effect in January. Each of the five board members will get $600 monthly covering, among others, participation in board meetings, work sessions, executive sessions, professional learning sessions and stakeholder meetings.
The board chair, currently Lewis Jones, will receive an additional $50 monthly.
The board is currently paid $50 a meeting, counting work sessions and special called meetings. They don’t get paid for executive sessions, which can sometimes last for hours. Two years ago the AJC asked two board members separately who said their annual compensation was around $1,000.
That paltry fee likely dates to a quarter century ago or more when board members weren’t elected but appointed by city commissioners. Unlike the city’s commissioners the school board could not vote itself a compensation increase until the city charter was finally amended May 21, 2018.
Board members can reject their stipend by informing the superintendent privately. Jones said those who take the stipend and those who refuse it will remain private.
In August 2017, the city commission approved its first raise in 23 years, with the commissioners’ pay jumping from $4,800 to $12,000 annually while the mayor improved from $6,000 to $15,000.
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