THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702090055
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY YOUNG, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 111 lines
Life used to be simpler for School Board members, at least in one way. They had to convince only City Council members, not the public, that they should be on the board.
Convincing the public takes more time - and more money. And seven of the School Board's nine members believe that increased demands of serving on an elected board justify a pay raise.
``I'll run if it's for nothing,'' said School Board member L. Thomas Bray. ``. . . But any board member who's doing his job, it's worth more than $3,000.''
On Jan. 27, the board approved a resolution asking the General Assembly to raise the salary cap to $7,200, from $3,500, a year. The bill being considered would also raise the Suffolk School Board's cap to $5,000, from $2,000.
Chesapeake School Board members now receive $3,000 a year, as they have since 1987.
The board's request raises the issue of whether elected members really do face a heavier workload than appointed members did.
Bray and fellow board member James M. Reeves began their tenure when the City Council was responsible for appointments. Both said their jobs are basically the same, except that residents are more likely to contact them about issues than before.
``You get some good feedback. There are more letters from parents than before,'' Bray said. ``It has made the public more aware. They ask more questions than before.''
But the major difference in workload, they and other board members say, is the expense and time involved in running a campaign to get elected in the first place.
``The demands are more financially because a person has to lay out some money up front. I had to lay out a sizeable amount as a donation to my campaign,'' said Reeves, citing such major expenses as advertisements, postage and placards. ``It's a big commitment,'' said Bray, ``and it's tough on the family.''
Board member Jeffrey A. Rowland, who along with James J. Wheaton voted against the resolution, said he doesn't dispute that campaigning is arduous or that a School Board member's job is demanding. Nor does he believe that the board members who approved the resolution are any less committed to public service than he is.
But the arguments for raising the salary still don't wash, he said.
``I think it's sending the wrong message,'' said Rowland. ``I don't think any of us are looking for the money, because you do this job because you want to make an impact on the community. It is difficult raising money (for campaigns), but I think it's wrong to ask the taxpayers to pay for that and that's exactly the argument they (other board members) are making.''
Rowland also pointed out, as Wheaton did at the Jan. 27 board meeting, that School Board members are eligible for a comprehensive health benefits package.
``On top of everything, the employer (the city) pays the full amount. In corporate America today, that's almost unheard of,'' said Rowland.
Reeves said he doesn't think the raise is ``a frugal thing to do.''
``But in light of what's happening all over,'' he said, ``and in light of what happened in City Council - they got a whopping raise.''
Reeves was referring to the $10,000 raise City Council members voted for themselves last year. Their pay went from $13,000 to $23,000 - the maximum the state allows for a city Chesapeake's size - tying them with Norfolk's council members as the highest paid in South Hampton Roads.
The decision followed legislation passed by the General Assembly that raised the salary cap for city council members.
Bill Pierce, who in 1992 started the petition drive that led to elected school boards in Chesapeake, said he hoped the School Board wouldn't follow in the City Council's footsteps.
``To see someone's salary double, that just boggles people's minds,'' said Pierce. Council members, he said, probably deserved some sort of raise because they hadn't had one since 1986, but ``it was too much, too fast.''
School Board members might be justified in seeking raises, he said, because of the amount of work they put in and because their pay hasn't been boosted since 1987 - but not because they now must run for office.
``That's an inherent part of being a public servant,'' said Pierce, a former candidate for City Council. ``No one twisted their arms to run.''
Pierce said that although he thought the decision of the Norfolk School Board - whose members are appointed - to serve on a volunteer basis was ``magnanimous,'' he doesn't think it would be fair to require Chesapeake's board to do the same. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Salaries of South Hampton Roads city officials
Chesapeake
School Board: $3,000
City Council: $23,000
Mayor: $25,000
Norfolk
School Board: volunteer
City Council: $23,000
Mayor: $25,000
Portsmouth
School Board: $2,700
City Council: $13,000
Mayor: $15,000
Suffolk
School Board: $2,000
City Council: $12,000
Mayor: $12,000
Virginia Beach
School Board: $3,600
City Council: $18,000
Mayor: $20,000
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD PROPOSED RAISE SALARIES