Palm Beach County School District employee salaries, 2011-2012

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Palm Beach County School District employee salaries are public records under the Florida Sunshine Law.

As of November 11, 2011, members of the Service Employees International Union were meeting with district officials to negotiate a new contract. Rank-and-file district employees had been expressing increasing anger and frustration over low wages in comparison to the salaries of the top district employees.

Salaries

Sunshine Review filed a Florida Public Records Request for salary information in the Palm Beach County School District. Sunshine Review was seeking salary information for ranking and elected officials and employees earning over $150,000 annually for the years 2008 to 2011. The district only provided the most recent salary information.

According to the data provided by the district, there were six employees earning more than $150,000 annually.

• Superintendent Arthur Johnson earned $300,000
• Chief Counsel to the Board Bruce Harris earned $190,000
• Chief Academic Officer Judith Klinek earned $181,236
• Chief Operating Officer Joseph Moore earned $180,336
• Superintendent William Malone earned 180,000
• Facilities Manager Joseph Sanchez earned $159,615

However, the above figures were different from another set of figures, with only the names of position provided by the school system:

• The Superintendent earned $265,000
• Chief Counsel to the School Board earned $194,500
• Chief Counsel to the School Board earned $190,000
• Chief Academic Officer earned $180,336
• Chief Operating Officer earned $180,336
• Chief Learning Officer earned $180,336
• Facilities Manager earned $159,615

The school district was seeking a new superintendent. The next Palm Beach County School Superintendent could have been hired as soon as February 15, 2012, would have at least 10 years of experience and would make between $225,000 and $285,000, school board members said.

Other noted salaries for 2011 included:

• Chief Information Officer Deepak Agarwal earned $143,400
• Purchasing Director Sharon Swan earned $137,511
• Chief Financial Officer Michael Burke earned $127,482
• Chief Public Information Officer Nathaniel Harrington earned $125,123
• Counsels to the Board Blair Littlejohn and Elizabeth McBride earned $126,878
• Van Ludy, director of labor relations, earned $108,324
• Budget Director Shirley Knox earned $105,902

School board member salaries were:

• Charles Shaw earned $36,822
• Karen Brill earned $36,822
• Jennifer Brown earned $36,822
• Frank Barbieri earned $36,822
• Marcia Andrews earned $36,822
• Debra Robinson earned $36,822
• Monroe Benaim earned $36,822

According to the FY2012 salary schedule, teachers with a Bachelor's Degree could earn base pay between $37,322 and $71,745.

Benefits

According to the 2012 Flexible Benefits Plan Reference Guide, the following benefits were offered to employees:

• Health insurance (district had a $50 surcharge per month on smokers starting 1/1/2012)
• Dental and vision
• Disability
• Life insurance
• Retirement

Cell phone use

District-issued and stipend paid for cell phones can be used for district business only. Other policies regarding cell phones include:

• Employees will limit cell phone usage and will use a land line whenever possible
• Must have the most cost-effective plan
• Personal calls are prohibited
• District can track any district celluar device at any time

Vehicle use

District-provided vehicles are not to be used for personal use. Other policies regarding vehicles include:

• Those issued a vehicle must fill out vehicle utilization logs
• Passengers in district issued vehicles must be related to district business
• Gasoline purchases must be paid for by the driver and will be reimbursed by the district

Salary records project

In 2011, Sunshine Review chose 152 local governments as the focus of research on public employee salaries. The editors of Sunshine Review selected eight states with relevant political contexts (listed alphabetically):

1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. New Jersey
6. Pennsylvania
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin

Within these states, the editors of Sunshine Review focused on the most populous cities, counties and school districts, as well as the emergency services entities within these governments. The purpose of this selection method was to develop articles on governments affecting the most citizens.

The salary information garnered from these states were a combination of existing online resources and state Freedom of Information Act requests sent out to the governments.

A study published by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia said the city of Philadelphia faced challenges owing to the cost of public employee pensions. The report claimed the amount that Philadelphia paid to pension recipients limited the city’s ability to use its budget effectively.

The report said there were more individuals receiving pension benefits—33,907 claimants in 2006—than workers in the city—28,701. The authors recommended three steps towards addressing the problem of high costs in pensions: improved data collection, expanded transparency initiatives, and reductions to the city's overall budget.

Salary schedules can be published as ranges, not as specific compensation figures, and may leave out compensation received through health and retirement benefits, as well as benefits such as commuter allowances and cell phone reimbursements. This project aimed to close the gap and provide a more accurate picture of public employee salaries for the sake of public education and transparency.

See also

• Public employee salaries

External links

• School District of Palm Beach County
• State Budget Solutions -- Florida