Disparity Between
Teacher/Superintendent
Pay Concerns Some
By Gordon Hopkins
School salaries has been a hot button topic in the past two years.
Superintendent’s Contract
Fairbury Public School Superintendent Stephen Grizzle will be receiving a raise of four percent. Grizzle’s salary for the 2020-2021 school year was $149,675, according to the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Salary Report. The superintendent receives a two-year contract which is then renewed every year.
The increase was approved at a meeting of the Fairbury Public Schools Board of Education on Monday, January 10, 2022. The decision was not unanimous, however. Board member Jonathan Winter voted against the raise.
“I decided to vote against the changes to Superintendent Grizzle’s contract for a few reasons,” said Winter to FJN after the meeting.
The Array
In April of 2021, a parents group attended a school board meeting, with more than 20 individuals speaking to the board and over 130 in attendance. A number of issues were raised at that time, including salaries, both for teachers and administration.
The differences in population, environment and other factors makes comparison of all districts in Nebraska difficult. The Office of Data, Research and Evaluation for the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has identified similar school districts based on a number of criteria, including number of students enrolled, attendance rate, population density, land area and various demographics.
Other schools in the array are Centennial, Fillmore, Freeman, Johnson County Central, Malcolm, Milford, Palmyra, Seward, South Central Unified, Syracuse-Dunbar, Tri County, Wilber-Clatonia, and York.
Teacher’s Salaries
Winter noted where the pay of teachers fall in that array, compared with the pay of the superintendent, saying, “At the same board meeting we approved a $750 raise on the teacher base salary, I asked where our certified staff (teachers) fall in our array. I was told ‘after the $1,000 from last year, they are right around the midpoint (middle of the array). In reality, Fairbury’s base salary currently ranks 11 of the 14 schools in our array. I asked where our superintendent fell in our array and was told, ‘it’s hard to compare from school to school but close to midpoint.’ Using the public resources provided by the Nebraska Department of Education, or NDE, to again evaluate our comparable schools, as I view the information, this is not ture (sic). Looking at salary alone, Mr. Grizzle is fifth of the 14 schools in our array. Taking into account insurance, salary, and other fringe benefits, Mr. Grizzle is third of the 14 school array. Once again, not at or relatively close to midpoint. All of the data that is referenced is from the 2021-2022 contracts because the 2022-2023 are not currently available.”
FJN contacted the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) to verify the numbers. In response, NSEA sent the base pay for teachers in an array. Karen Kilgarin, NSEA Director of Public Affairs & Communications, advised FJN, “(T)he 60-mile array that is based on distance from the subject school district and the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations convention of no larger than twice as big and no smaller than half as small.”
The array does not include Syracuse-Dunbar but is otherwise the same. The information provided indicates the base salary for FPS teachers for the 2020-2021 school year is $36,675. The lowest base salary for teachers is $35,700. The highest is $39,950. Fairbury Public Schools’ pay is 11th on the list.
FJN then acquired superintendent salaries for the same schools from the NDE Salary Report and found Stephen Grizzle’s salary was fifth on the list. NDE reported, in the same array of schools, the highest superintendent salary is $159,455. The lowest is $130,000.
The salaries used are for the 2020-2021 school year and do not include the most recent raises.
Winter said, “I hope that this helps explain why I was reluctant to vote for approval of a new two year superintendent contract. My intent is not to be difficult, but to act in, what I view as, the best interest of the students, staff, and community.”
