The Dothan City School Board shot down a proposal on Monday to use grants from the Wiregrass Foundation to supplement the pay of an administrator to take on the role of deputy superintendent and to supplement the pay of a support employee handling the system’s webmaster duties.
Superintendent Tim Wilder asked the board to accept a grant from the Wiregrass Foundation to provide a supplement of about $23,000 to secondary curriculum director Allyson Morgan and a supplement of $5,000 to assistant computer/electronics technician/webmaster Kim Judy.
Wilder said he felt the system needed a deputy superintendent to help with the administrative duties of the system, particularly because several administrative positions had been eliminated. Wilder said the extra work should not go uncompensated, and that his second-in-command should be the second-highest paid school system employee. According to salary numbers obtained by the Eagle in 2010, Morgan currently makes about $82,246.
Wilder said the supplement for Morgan would not create a new position, but would instead be a supplement for adding increased duties to Morgan’s existing job.
Wilder had tried to get a supplement for Judy from school system funds at a previous board meeting, but the board rejected that proposal.
Wilder told the board that he understood that tight budgets might make them unwilling to support supplements from school system funds, which is why he sought grants from the Wiregrass Foundation for the supplements.
Board member Franklin Jones moved that the board accept Wilder’s recommendation. The motion died for lack of a second.
Following the vote, Wilder and the board discussed why the board didn’t approve the recommendation.
Board member Jimmy Addison asked board attorney Jere Segrest whether the school system would have to pay the supplement if the Wiregrass Foundation cancelled the grant later. Segrest said the system would have to continue the supplement if that happened.
Addison also said that if the increase was approved, Morgan would make more money than employees with more years of experience and higher degree levels.
Wilder said he was disappointed that the board declined to fund needed positions with money made available through grants.
“This is nothing more than an example of micromanagement from the board,” he said.
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