School district releases gross pay of employees

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CommonSense01 Tuesday, July 27, 2010: 8:28 pm

I thank the Journal for providing us a link to the salaries of Jessamine County Public School personnel. This is a valuable public service, even if relatively few people take advantage of it to find out how much certain high-ranking officials at the school district earn. I wish the newspaper would have used this information to investigate the salary structure in the school system and raise valid questions concerning whether the Jessamine County Public School system is top heavy as I have long suspected. However, it is clear to me that the newspaper has no interest in exposing the district’s dirty little secrets. So, taking the initiative and using the data contained on the link provided by the Journal, I have conducted my own research and wish to expose my findings: Central Office is a sponge that absorbs a disproportionate amount of taxpayer funds, while allowing inadequate resources to reach the schools and classrooms where they are most needed. The Jessamine County Public Schools own Website shows the lovely photographs of 55 people employed at central office. I could make a case that 55 people who do not have jobs involving direct daily contact with students is excessive. However, I concede that I lack adequate information to support that conclusion. However, it does seem like a huge number of people to oversee the school district. Using the link to the salaries of school district employees provided to us by The Journal, I discovered that the combined salaries of these 55 employees at Central Office is more than $3 million. Benefits, such as health insurance, would bring the personnel costs at Central Office to close to $4 million. Four employees at Central Office each earn more than $100,000, led by Superintendent Lu Young’s $140,050. Seven other employees at Central Office each earn more than $80,000 per year. Only 12 of the 55 people employed at Central Office – fewer than one-fourth - earn less than $35,000 per year. Very few teachers, by contrast, earn more than $50,000 in Jessamine County. On the Jessamine County Public School Website, I counted no fewer than 14 secretarial and administrative assistant positions assigned to Central Office. Where I work, we have two of these positions to assist approximately 25 employees. I can’t help but wonder what the highest ranking officials in the school district would say if our schools asked for assistants to help teachers with their paperwork or to provide additional assistance to struggling students. Teachers, most of whom have earned graduate degrees and serve on the front lines, spend untold hours outside the school day grading papers and creating innovative lesson plans. More than anyone else in any school system, teachers – not top-level administrators - influence a child’s social and academic development. They participate in professional development activities and are faced with increasingly large class sizes, and often undisciplined and unmotivated pupils. These teachers are paid a fraction of what they deserve, in my opinion. In fact, they often earn less money than the secretaries at Central Office. I support our public schools and do not want to suggest that we are spending too much money to support our schools. I do, however, believe that the way the district’s funding is dispersed is terribly out of line. Perhaps taking some of the $3 million in salaries at Central Office and redirecting it to employ a few more teachers or purchase some new textbooks and other resources just might make more common sense.

kingsover Thursday, July 29, 2010: 1:00 pm

Who mandated that the School District is required to deliver their Gross Pay report to you (local newspaper)

jonathan.kleppinger Thursday, July 29, 2010: 1:38 pm

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. "The local board of education and the fiscal court shall have accessible a factual list of individual salaries for public scrutiny and the local board and the fiscal court shall furnish by mail a factual list of individual salaries of its employees to a newspaper qualified under KRS 424.120 to publish advertisements for the district, which newspaper may then publish as a news item the individual salaries of school or county employees." - KRS 424.220

mo ky fellow Friday, July 30, 2010: 9:15 pm

If they have any "gross money" left over, they can send it my way!

hls1209 Thursday, August 19, 2010: 12:43 pm

Common Sense - I could NOT agree with you more! The district should be embarrassed that there is a such a large gap in pay between "administrative" personnel and the teachers, assistants, etc. who are responsible for educating our children.

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