Horry County School Board hoarding pay raises for themselves

I read a second article about the self-serving pay raise the Horry County Board of Education are voting in for themselves. I was glad to see The Sun News published the data of what the rest of the South Carolina’s boards of education get.

I’m not apposed to paying qualified and dedicated individuals for their time and effort. However, in this case the Horry County board has over stepped.

Their rational is that they are following the guidelines of the state government in voting themselves the exorbitant pay raise. But it is taking money away from the folks who deserve more. I am a retired instructor from a college in Minnesota and stood witness to how our funding was distributed. The instructional staff received 1 percent to 3 percent, the deans and department heads got 3 percent to 5 percent, and the administrator/president got 5 percent to 7 percent, plus other unmentioned perks. The deans and those above always had their settlements completed while we went into long negotiations leading to a settlement or strike.

From the federal government on down, I believe a separate and unbiased group from the regional area should be named as arbiters. Their task would concern the funding distribution for federal, state and local governing entities.

The popular adage about “having to pay to get the best and brightest” is wearing thin, and those seeing themselves in that group should be given a reality lesson.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 6:27 AM with the headline "Horry County School Board hoarding pay raises for themselves."