\u201cSuperintendent: As published by the Florida Legislature\u2019s Office of Economic and Demographic Research; Salaries of Elected Constitutional Officers and School district Officials, plus 1 percent of this amount for each year as Superintendent of schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently, the consent agenda given to school board members for the Feb. 8 meeting wasn\u2019t the same as the consent agenda published on the school board website for public consumption. The consent agenda is a cluster of business items the board routinely approves as a package at every board meeting, often without much discussion, or any discussion. The board feels the items aren\u2019t worth taking time to discuss in any detail in a board meeting<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boyle raised the issue of Cowart\u2019s pay increase early in the Feb. 8 meeting when she said she asked to pull the item off the consent agenda. The only way consent items can be discussed is if a board member requests a chance to talk about it and a majority of board members vote to approve discussion of the item. Boyle\u2019s request was approved unanimously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she had discussed the pay increase with Cowart ahead of time and they were on opposite sides of the fence on whether he should receive the pay increase. She wanted more accountability for public tax dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we need to be held accountable for our tax dollars and what we do here as a board,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boyle said the Levy County superintendent\u2019s salary increased between 2019 and 2022 from $109,908 to $115,773.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said she knows Cowart has a lot on his plate and he works hard and she wasn\u2019t discounting those facts. She said no disrespect was intended by bringing the matter forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted everyone to know what I was thinking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said Cowart began working a month ago toward earning a state certificate that could give him an even higher salary. The certificate is called a Chief Executive Officer Leadership Development Certificate. She said it takes about a year to earn. She has no doubt Cowart is capable of earning the certificate. Based on his annual performance as a superintendent, the certificate will give him an incentive of not less than $3,000 nor more than $7,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think sometimes we have to look at what it appears to others other than ourselves sitting here and at the district,\u201d Boyle said. \u201cWhen I had regular jobs out there, I would get performance evaluations. My increase would be based on how I performed. I know there\u2019s been talk of evaluations for us board members and even the board attorney. I think that\u2019s the protocol if we want to put that in place, and look at those performances and revisit this based on those performances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cowart responded that when he was looking at teacher salary schedules in districts that touch Levy County\u2019s border, he found language in Columbia County about the school superintendent in that county getting increases above what he received from the state. He noted that giving the superintendent a salary increase has never been done before in Levy County, but he added that the school district had never previously allowed a district-level administrator to go back to coaching football either, which was done last year with Adam Gore in Chiefland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI tried to think outside the box. We want to reward our teachers and our district-level staff here, which is a part of rewarding them for their hard work. The principals and assistant principals are being rewarded for performance base, so I understand that,\u201d Cowart said. \u201cIt is 1 percent. It\u2019s never been done in Levy County. We were looking for the scope of things between elected superintendents and also other superintendents around the state that are appointed. Also, we looked locally in the United States at what those salaries are. It’s a wide variety of things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 1 percent. I brought those to Kim Lake, the financial director. If we don\u2019t have the funds, I\u2019m not taking the bonuses. That\u2019s been stated to her (Lake),\u201d Cowart said. \u201cI understand Boyle is on the opposite side of this. I appreciate her looking at this as being a good steward of Levy County dollars. Yes, I know what this job entailed when I took it. If you so decide (not to approve the extra money), it\u2019s not going to stop me from doing my job one way or another. I found this language (in Columbia County). I worked extremely hard in the last year for this district, for the employees, and for students, so I am advocating for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Retiring school board member Brad Etheridge said he has been a member of the board long enough to see what Cowart has accomplished in his first term as superintendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing things that I think set our county forward probably as much as I\u2019ve seen in a long time,\u201d Etheridge said, noting supplements have been increased for the first time since the 1980s. He said the school district remains so far back on giving supplements that it may never get caught up. In looking at the budget, Etheridge said the budget is in the best shape he\u2019s seen since coming on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to do things for the employees I didn\u2019t even think were possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
School board member Cameron Asbell said he supported the increased pay for Cowart for a different reason. He said he has been on the board long enough to have seen a previous superintendent\u2019s pay cut by 10 to 12 percent by the state. The county has no influence over the pay cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brookins said Cowart came to the superintendent\u2019s position with the advantage of having served on the school board for a number of years, having studied budgets, and having participated in creating the school district\u2019s master board status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud of the work and the direction he is leading the county,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
School Board Chairwoman Ashley Clemenzi said she supported the 1 percent increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do think we should review it once a year. I do want to review it in a year and maybe implement an evaluation that would make everyone feel more comfortable. We could do that later. I do support a 1 percent increase,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tammy-and-Chriss-Feb-8-2022-SBLC-meeting.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/spotlightonlevycountygovernment.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/SBLC-Feb-8-2022.jpg\")