ROCKINGHAM — A “modest” raise was just given to people on the Richmond County Board of Education.
It was hidden in the consent plan for the Richmond County Board of Commissioners that Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell asked for school board members’ monthly pay to go up by $100 this year and another $100 next year.
The letter, which is written to Commissioners Chairman Jeff Smart, shows that the issue has been talked about.
“Members of the Board of Education choose to serve because they believe it is their civic duty to do so, and the small amount of money they get each month helps to cover the time and resources that are needed for Board service,” Ferrell writes.
Ferrell says that the head of the school board gets $350 a month and each member gets $325. He also says that these amounts have not changed “for at least 23 years,” even when inflation or other factors are taken into account.
Because of the raise, the chairman will get $450 a month this year and $550 in 2025. Other members will get $425 a month this year and $525 next year.
The chairman will make $6,600 a year in two years, and each member will make $6,300.
A 2017 story from NC Public Press says that school board members in Jackson and McDowell counties, which have about the same number of people as Richmond County, were paid $4,200 and $5,400, respectively.
The News-Journal said that each member of the Hoke County school board was paid more than $7,000 a year in pay and bonuses. The exact amounts were reported by each member. There are about 12,000 more people living in Hoke County than in Richmond.
The letter says that the request was accepted by the school board at its meeting in August.
In the letter, Ferrell says that the board is not asking for any extra money and that the money would come from what has already been set aside.
For the fiscal years 2024–2025, the county’s budget gives $12.927M to Richmond County Schools, which is 8.45% more than the previous year.
Two changes to the budget for the Richmond County Health Department were on the consent agenda. The department got funding to help pay for programs.
One change calls for $140,290 “to focus on the work of removing barriers and expanding the COVID-19 vaccination program.”
The second one was for $18,425 to “extend clinic hours for community outreach to promote” the WIC program. It was for the Health Department.
The Richmond County Board of Elections added a $30,000 budget change to the consent agenda, which was a “oversight” that wasn’t in the original plan. This was done to pay part-time workers for the upcoming election.
Most of the time, consent agendas are approved without any conversation before the regular agenda items.