Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

School board debates director contract




Bill Spurlock

Bill Spurlock

Incoming Rutherford County Superintendent Bill Spurlock’s employment contract is nearly ready for approval.

The Board of Education approved a draft contract during a meeting Wednesday, April 11. Board attorney Jeffrey Reed said he will present the contract to Spurlock and gather his input. The board is expected to vote on the final contract at its Thursday, April 19 business meeting.

The contract approval was not unanimous. Board member Aaron B. Holladay voted against the salary of $156,316. Board member Lisa Moore abstained. The vote for the salary was 5-1-1.

Reed, who wrote up the draft contract, said he modeled it closely upon the contract used for outgoing Superintendent Don Odom. The $156,316 figure is Odom’s current salary.

Moore said she wanted more data on the salaries that other school directors in the state earn, taking into account their experience, length of service and size of their districts. Reed had obtained such data from two organizations, the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) and the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA).

Reed made a case that Rutherford County underpays Odom based on his research, factoring in the district’s size.

TOSS provided average and median salaries based on the number of students in districts, but in an aggregate form, not matching individual districts to exact salaries, and thus not making it possible to calculate experience and length of service as a factor.

The TSBA provided individual districts’ salaries. Reed said Rutherford County’s salary is the lowest in Middle Tennessee. He pointed to Maury County’s superintendent’s salary, which is $180,000. Wilson County pays $165,000.

The board debated on how long to wait before meeting with Spurlock to set goals and objectives. The draft contract called for 60 days following the start of Spurlock’s hiring, which will be effective as of July 1. There was concern that may not be enough time given the Aug. 2 elections in which three board seats are up and the timing with the end of school. In the end, the board stayed with the 60-day suggestion.

The final vote on the draft contract was 5-1-1, with Holladay voting no and Moore abstaining.

The board discussed holding meetings to discuss school safety. The board is considering holding one session in executive session, which would be closed to the public, to talk about specific measures, and one that is open to the public to receive input and assure people that they are taking action to secure the schools. Chairman Jeff Jordan said he would consider the idea. The board threw out the dates of April 23 for the open meeting and April 26 for the closed meeting.

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