A proposal to study pay scales in the school division was tabled Thursday at a meeting of the Patrick County School Board.
Walter Scott, of the Smith River District, said he wanted to better understand the goals of the study and what actions the board would take once they received the results.
Under the proposal, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) would “look at your salary scales” and the employee classification in the division, Schools Superintendent Bill Sroufe said.
The study team also will look for and recommend best practices/improvements to best match positions to skills and associated compensation, according to the proposal.
“Some of our (salaries) are out of whack and need to be adjusted,” Sroufe said, adding any actions after the study is completed would be at the board’s discretion, including taking no action at all.
The study team would consider regional competitiveness of existing salaries, alignment of salary in relation to experience, trends in public education related to salary decisions and other aspects. It would take about three months to complete at a total cost of $18,000, Sroufe said. He said the cost was the lowest he found, and added another group would charge $56,000 to complete the study.
The board unanimously voted to table the proposal until an upcoming meeting.
In other matters, the board heard public comments from:
* Nancy Carlson, who thanked the board for their “kind gesture” in preparing a picnic for returning teachers, posting the school budget on the division’s website and replacing her 14-year-old textbooks with a new classroom set. She also encouraged the board to post additional financial information online;
*Andrew Overby, who expressed his support for the Army Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program and encouraged the board to reinstate the program;
*Trena Anderson, who reminded the board to properly advertise the time and location of school board meetings, to familiarize themselves with the laws that pertain to their respective elected positions, ensure they meet the tenets of Virginia laws and to apologize to the former JROTC cadets;
*Alisha Rupprecht, who spoke in support of the JROTC program, as well as a pending early graduation request. Rupprecht said the request should be approved because it is unfair to “ask a child to sit in” a class they cannot pass and/or have no interest in taking.
Following a closed session meeting in which personnel and crisis plans were discussed, the board approved the personnel report, as amended, and approved a crisis plan.
