News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The salary for Putnam County’s Director of Schools salary sits about $38,000 dollars below the state average for a similar-size school district.
County School Board member Kim Cravens said she believes the disparity needs to be addressed.
“The director’s salary is low and we want to remain competitive,” Cravens said. “Just like we want our starting teacher’s pay to be up there where we can attract new teachers and retain teachers, you have to have the directors salary in line, as well.”
According to data from the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents, the base salary for a district with 10,000 to 25,000 students averages $146,000 dollars. In the contract adopted for new Putnam County Director of Schools Corby King earlier this month, the salary is $108,000. The Putnam County School System has 12,000 students in the district.
Cravens said she brought up the issue as school board members discussed King’s contract, but realized the current economic situation did not make a change possible at the moment. King signed a one-year agreement.
“We all kind of realize at this point in time, with the pandemic going on, budgets getting crunched, and not being sure what’s coming in July with the commission because revenue is not at all what it was going to be,” Cravens said. “It was probably not the time to raise it, but it’s definitely on our radar.”
Board Member Celeste Gammon and Board Chairman Dawn Fry also spoke in favor of discussing the issue further.
With an average base salary of $122,000 dollars for all districts in Middle Tennessee, Cravens said she would like to see the director’s salary move more in line with that number. She also said that she believes the board will raise the salary in phases depending on the amount of funds the system has available.
Cravens said one of the reasons the salary is low is because former director Jerry Boyd often refused pay raises if teachers didn’t get a raise. She said that she appreciated Boyd’s actions, but it is something the board has to remain vigilant about correcting.
Although Cravens said she has confidence in King’s leadership, she said the director’s salary needs to be competitive in the event the community needs to search for a new director.
“You want to make sure when you are looking for people, the best apply,” Cravens said. “If your salary is not in line with where it should be, then you’re probably not going to get some of those people.”
“We know we have to work on that. It was to kind of put that on the radar so that if and when we do something, people aren’t like, ‘where’d that come from?’.”
