County superintendent, principals get raises

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
July 16, 2004
The Lauderdale County School Board on Thursday approved 6 percent pay raises for central office administrators and principals. District support staff will receive an 8 percent raise.
School Superintendent David Little also will receive a 6 percent raise, bringing his salary to $76,320. He currently makes $72,000 a year. District support staff includes cafeteria workers, bus drivers and school secretaries.
The motion passed by a 3-2 vote. School Board President Robbie Hales and board member Scott Sollie voted against the pay raises; board members Barbara Jones, Pam Frazier and Samantha Boutwell voted for the raises.
Jones said while she supports the pay raises, she would like to see principals' raises reflect their schools' success on statewide standardized tests.
The school board also voted to approve the district's budget for the upcoming school year. The district's operating budget for fiscal year 2005 is $59,493,737 about $9.2 million more than last year's budget.
Charlotte Parker, director of finance for Lauderdale County Schools, said the biggest percentage of the budget, about 59 percent, will fund classroom instruction and support services.
Parker said the biggest increases in the budget will go toward 8 percent teacher pay raises mandated by the state and the rising cost of insurance for district employees.
School district officials outlined the proposed budget at a public hearing Thursday that was attended by about 10 people.
Parker said the school tax rate will be 43.91 mills, an increase of 1.64 percent over last year. A millage rate is the amount of tax paid per dollar on the assessed value of property. One mill is one-tenth of 1 cent.
Other details of the budget include: