174 percent pay increase for LA school board, report says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Los Angeles commission on Monday voted to give members of the L.A. Board of Education a 174 percent raise that increase their pay from $45,637 to $125,000 a year, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The increase fell short a former member’s call to increase their salaries to match a city council member: $191,000 annually.
A first-year teacher in the city pulls in $50,368 to $80,116 a year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The report said that board compensation is set by an outside comittee every five years. In 2012, the economy was blamed for no salary increase.
“It’s very obvious how much hard work the school board members put in day in and day out,” Efren Martinez, a commission member, told the paper. Martinez said that an average school board district is larger than City Council district. He called $125,000 “a good starting point.”
The LAUSD Board of Education Compensation Review Committee, a seven-member body, voted unanimously for the raise. The committee is set up by officials outside the school district.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The report said that most board members carry a heavy workload.
The school board election was last month and its new majority is backed by charter school advocates, The L.A. Daily News reported. One of the biggest challenges that the board will have to reportedly confront will be labor negotiations.