Hamilton County school board members voted to approve new Superintendent Justin Robertson's contract with an annual salary of $225,000 during a special meeting Monday.
Board of Education members Rhonda Thurman, Joe Smith, Karista Jones, Joe Wingate, James Walker, Jenny Hill and Tucker McClendon voted to OK the contract. Board members Marco Perez and Tiffanie Robinson were not present.
Robertson, a 13-year district veteran serving as interim deputy superintendent, is set to take over as permanent superintendent in January. His contract runs from Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2025.
In addition to his annual base salary, Robertson's contract says he will receive specific compensation if certain systemwide performance metrics are achieved.
If, for example, at least half of all third-grade students are on track or achieve mastery as measured by the TNReady English Language Arts assessment, he will receive $5,000. Other performance-based compensation possibilities laid out in the contract include:
- $5,000 when 38% of all students across all grades are on track in Algebra I.
- $5,000 when the average ACT composite for the class of 2023 is 21.
- $5,000 if 90% of students who entered high school in the 2019 cohort graduate by summer 2023.
- $5,000 if Hamilton County Schools maintain at least a Level 4 Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System score.
(READ MORE: Justin Robertson chosen to lead Hamilton County Schools)
Robertson was selected by the school board to serve as superintendent in a 7-2 vote on Dec. 9. He began his career in 2000 as a teacher and coach at Boyd Buchanan, a local private school. He spent a short time as an educator and administrator in Shelby County Schools in Memphis before returning to the Chattanooga area to work for Hamilton County Schools in 2008, according to his resume.
Since then he has worked for the district in various administrative roles, most recently as chief operations officer before being named interim deputy superintendent.
Robertson succeeds Bryan Johnson, who left Hamilton County Schools in August to take a leadership role at trucking and logistics business U.S. Xpress.
Before his retirement, Johnson's salary for the 2021-22 school year was set at $252,399, according to the 2022 operating budget.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.