The Smackover-Norphlet school board held its most recent meeting on Monday, March 15, and approved salary schedule pay increases for the district’s teachers, paraprofessionals and classified employees.
According to minutes from the March 15 meeting provided by the school district, the board unanimously passed a motion to increase licensed salary schedule pay by $1,250 per year and, in a separate motion, to increase classified staff pay by 75 cents per hour.
In a letter posted on the district’s website, SNSD superintendent Jason Black praised the board’s decision to approve the pay raises.
“Our school board voted unanimously to increase pay for all teachers, paraprofessionals, and classified employees at the March school board meeting. This pay increase will give our district a competitive edge in our region and will help us recruit the best and retain our all-star team,” Black wrote.
The pay raises, Black writes, will make the SNSD more competitive with other districts in its region.
“This bump in the salary schedule will make our pay for licensed teachers tied for third in our region when it comes to bachelor’s degrees and second when looking at BA+15 (Bachelor’s degree plus 15 credit hours) and Master’s Degree schedules. For a reference, two years ago we were ranked eighth in our region. We were also able to increase our classified staff wages by 75 cents-an-hour bringing these positions to the top quartile across the region… as this group was also ranked mid to low in comparisons two years ago,” Black wrote.
Black then spoke to the board about an upcoming town hall meeting set for Thursday, April 8 at 6 p.m. in the Hobgood Auditorium.
Black also wrote about the town hall meeting in his March 17 blog post.
“We would like to establish periodic town hall meetings to discuss all the great things our staff and students are doing and also get feedback from our communities as we make long range plans for the future. These discussions will include academic plans, athletics [and] extra curricular opportunities, facility updates, and other information that could help move our district forward,” Black wrote.
Following an hour-long executive session, the board unanimously approved hiring a desktop technician at an annual salary of $25,000.
Lastly, Black informed the school board that he accepted the resignations of high school math instructor Doyne Alphin and special education supervisor Jenny Ramsey.
The next Smackover-Norphlet regular school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 19.