A majority of Madison School Board members appeared to be in favor Monday of significantly boosting their pay and making themselves eligible for the district’s employee health care coverage.
Board members cited the amount of work they do and a desire to make the seats more attractive to run for as reasons why increased pay and health coverage were needed. They also pointed to the salaries of board members for other, similar-sized and Wisconsin school districts.
“I think it’s really important to make sure that we make this — with the amount of work that we do — we make sure that this position is as accessible as possible,” board Vice President Maia Pearson said during Monday’s Operations Work Group meeting.
Board members currently make $8,000 a year, with the president of the board making $8,300. According to research by district administration, Milwaukee School Board members make $18,121, Kenosha members make $6,500, Green Bay members make $7,538.40 and Racine members make $3,600. The Madison School District, with about 25,000 students, is the second-largest district in the state.
Milwaukee is the only Wisconsin school district that makes its board members eligible for district health insurance. Making Madison board members eligible for health and dental coverage is estimated to cost the district between $82,000 and $220,000 annually.
Board members last increased their pay, from $4,200, in 2015. There was some consensus Monday during the board’s meeting that $15,000 might be an appropriate new yearly stipend.
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