Bradley County commissioners and community members expressed concern about significant raises proposed for Bradley County school board members in a work session last week.
The proposed raise for regular school board members would increase 200% from $200 per month to $600 per month. For the chairperson, the raise would increase about 167% from $300 to $800 per month.
Commissioner Tim Mason introduced the issue at the beginning of the meeting, saying he received calls from concerned community members about the raises, and Vice Chair Thomas Crye proposed adding a resolution to the agenda at the commission's next meeting to adjust the compensation of school board members.
Commissioners Mike Hughes and Cindy Slater said they supported the school board getting raises, but not as high as what was proposed. Hughes said all the constituents he spoke with favored raises at a lower amount, and Slater told the commission she supported raises in line with other county employees.
"If you go back the 28 years they have not received a pay increase, and you do the math and give them a 2% pay increase - which is what the teachers and most other Bradley County employees receive every year - that would bring their compensation up to about $325 a month," Slater said. "Not saying that's the right thing to do, but that's the pay increase that every other Bradley County employee has received the past 28 years, on the years they have received a pay increase."
Commissioner Bill Winters told the commission he thought the idea for the raises came from a conversation he had with former school board member Jerry Frazier, who passed away in December. Winters said he made $60 per month as a school board member prior to 1993, which increased after he left to the $200 per month current board members receive.
"The school board member that passed in my district, one of the last conversations he had with me was, 'We don't get enough for what we do. We need to be at least equal to our city representatives,' and that's where it came from for me," Winters said.
Speakers addressing the commission spoke against the proposed raises for multiple reasons, saying the school board members already accepted their positions at a certain compensation level, the raise amounts are too high or the board has not accepted additional responsibilities that warrant a raise.
The commission will vote on the resolution at its meeting beginning at noon on Monday.
Contact Anika Chaturvedi at achaturvedi@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.