Amite schools chief gets pay raise
By John Surratt | Enterprise-Journal
Posted: 06/27/08 - 11:52:04 am CDT
Amite County Superintendent of Schools Debbie Hopf is getting a 5 percent pay raise.
County Board of Education members, who set the elected superintendent’s salary, approved the raise during a special meeting Thursday morning. The raise increases Hopf’s salary from $77,175 to $81,033.
The raise is included in the school district’s 2008-09 budget, which also includes step increases for teachers and a 5 percent raise for all school district employees except teachers and teacher aides.
Hopf’s salary is separate from the school district’s employee pay scale because she is an elected official.
Board members also approved the school district’s $9.5 million budget during a 10 a.m. meeting Thursday.
Hopf’s raise and several other school district matters were discussed during a second special meeting held 30 minutes after the budget meeting.
The board reviewed the budget during a public hearing last week. No county residents attended the hearing at the school district’s administrative offices.
The budget includes a 1.4-mill property tax increase and is $198,584 less than the district’s $9.7 million 2007-08 budget.
School officials said the millage increase, which is expected to generate approximately $2.3 million, was necessary to make up for the potential loss of $445,177 in state and federal funds, and to cover the increased costs of the district’s operations.
Amite County is losing $210,979 in Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds because of declining enrollment. MAEP funds are based on student enrollment.
The millage increase raises the school district’s millage rate to 27.3 mills. Despite the increase, Amite County’s school millage is the second lowest in the state according to the Mississippi Tax Commission. Issaquena County has the lowest school millage at 22.99 mills.
The school district is expected to spend a projected $9.48 million for operation and maintenance, with $5.59 million going to salaries for teachers, administrators and non-certified employees such as cafeteria workers, secretaries, bus drivers and maintenance workers.
Board members voted 3-1 to approve Hopf’s raise in an executive session during the second meeting.
“Mrs. Hopf has come in and worked very hard and shown that she is trying to be a good superintendent,” board president Jimmy Burns said.
He added that the school board had not given its employees a raise in three to four years, adding that Amite County’s superintendent’s salary traditionally has been lower than those of superintendents in surrounding districts.Based on her performance, he said, the majority of the board “felt that she needed one (raise), too.”
Board member Albert White, who opposed the raise, said he thought it was too early for Hopf to receive one.
“She’s been on the job since Jan. 11, and she received a promotional raise then,” White said. “Now, it’s five months later, she’s getting a 5 percent raise, and she hasn’t had an evaluation.”
He said the board should have waited until January, when it evaluates administrative employees, to make a decision on a raise.
“We need to be careful,” he said. “Money’s tight. We’re being scrutinized on how we run the school system and how we spend our money. We should put the children first and then the school district.”
In other action during the second meeting, the board members:
• Approved the transfer of two students to the North Pike School District and four children to Franklin County because they lived within 30 miles of those school districts. The board also approved the transfer of two other students to Franklin County because their parents worked in the county.
• Approved the transfer of four students from Wilkinson County.
• Denied two separate requests allowing students to transfer from Amite County to Franklin County because of special circumstances. In both cases, the requests failed for lack of a second.
One request sought to let a student attend Franklin County High School because it offered some programs that Amite County did not.
The second request was to allow three children to remain in Franklin County schools for one more year while their mother, a single parent, completed nursing school at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
White objected to the first request, saying that other students in Amite County faced the same situation with gifted classes but elected to stay.
White said the district “has lost too many students,” adding, “when we lose students, we lose (state) money, and we’ve lost money.”
He urged the board to think about approving transfers.
“We’re opening up flood gates here,” he said. “We’re asking for problems.”
• Approved a pay raise for the school district’s lead JROTC instructor, Maj. Charles Powell, putting his pay at $63,327. The U.S. Army pays half of the salary for the instructor.
• Accepted a price quote $66,318 from Bottrell Insurance Co. of Jackson for insurance coverage from Travelers Insurance Co.
• Approved paying vo-tech teachers $18 an hour for projects and work done after hours.
• Approved a $362,538 payment to the district’s 16th Section land loan, reducing the debt to $1.038 million.
• Approved the payment of $60,911 for the district’s administration of federal programs. The money was placed in the district’s maintenance fund.
• Authorized the transfer of $337,565 from the district’s 16th Section land principal fund to the interest fund.
• Authorized the transfer of $1.334 million from the 16th Section interest fund to the school district’s maintenance fund. The money includes the 16th Section interest plus revenue from leases and timber sales.High School because it offered some programs that Amite County did not.
The second request was to allow three children to remain in Franklin County schools for one more year while their mother, a single parent, completed nursing school at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
White objected to the first request, saying that other students in Amite County faced the same situation with gifted classes but elected to stay.
White said the district “has lost too many students,” adding, “when we lose students, we lose (state) money, and we’ve lost money.”
He urged the board to think about approving transfers.
“We’re opening up flood gates here,” he said. “We’re asking for problems.”
• Approved a pay raise for the school district’s lead JROTC instructor, putting his pay at $63,327. The U.S. Army pays half of the salary for the instructor, who is an Army major.
• Accepted a price quote $66,318 from Bottrell Insurance Co. of Jackson for insurance coverage from Travelers Insurance Co.
• Approved paying Vo-Tech teachers $18 an hour for projects and work done after hours.
• Approved a $362,538 payment to the district’s 16th Section land loan, reducing the debt to $1.038 million.
• Approved the payment of $60,911 for the district’s administration of federal programs. The money was placed in the district’s maintenance fund.
• Authorized the transfer of $337,565 from the district’s 16th Section land principal fund to the interest fund.
• Authorized the transfer of $1.334 million from the 16th Section interest fund to the school district’s maintenance fund. The money includes the 16th Section interest plus revenue from leases and timber sales.
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