The Pine Bluff School Board tabled discussions Monday night around Superintendent Michael Robinson’s contract because not all board members were present. Board members Herman Horace, Harold Jackson, Phyllis Wilkins, Stephen Bronskill and Andrea Roaf-Little voted for the motion to table. They had met in executive session for about 45 minutes before taking this action.
Horace said he wants all board members to be present to discuss Robinson’s contract, specifying that their tabling the matter Monday night is not a reflection on Robinson. Roaf-Little agreed.
“I think we are all in agreement that we should all be present,” Roaf-Little said. “We are pleased with a lot of things Dr. Robinson is doing.”
Board members Henry Dabner and Gwendolyn Woods were absent.
Robinson was hired June 6, 2016, on a contract that currently runs through June 30, 2019. He is earning a salary of $155,000 annually. He is responsible for keeping the board continually informed on the progress of the schools; carrying out policies and rules; initiating matters of educational policy; recommending the number and types of positions required to provide proper operation of educational programs; nominating for appointment, assignment, transfer, or termination and defining the duties of all personnel; assuring that district finances are professionally managed and that interest earnings on deposited funds are maximized; recommending to the board the proper textbooks to be used; and many other duties.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In other news, Laura Strickland, the coordinator of the district’s business, finance, and state and federal programs, said there is a class-action settlement involving current and former teachers. She asked the board to approve the class-action settlement. Bronskill asked Strickland if it was possible to provide background information on the class-action settlement. Strickland deferred to Robinson.
“This is a situation that started around 2002 or 2003 and it was a result of policies that were not followed from the information the attorney shared with me,” Robinson, who has a doctorate in educational leadership, said. “The Pine Bluff School District was supposed to have settled these debts some years ago. The final judgment was coming down and so that’s the reason why we moved forward to pay them as per our attorney’s recommendation. Otherwise, you would to go to court.”
“Some of the policies we had were not being followed,” Robinson said.
The board voted to settle the class-action lawsuit. As a result, the following people are receiving the following amounts of money:
Vicki Lee, $8,854; Patricia Thomas, $15,000; Patricia Amos, $1,846.80; Glenda Daughtery, $1,152.90; Gloria Turntine, $868.05; Marcia West, $1,513.35; Doris Williams, $1,341.90; Marvette Williams, $957.15; Theresa Stallings, $1,399.95; Patricia Jackson, $1,399.95; Rexanna Lea, $1,555.20; and Helen McLemore, $1,464.75.
In other news, the board voted to amend the meeting agenda to discuss bus driver pay.
A full-time driver with no experience makes $20 per hour, a full-time driver with one year experience makes $21 per hour, a full-time driver with two years experience makes $22 per hour, a full-time driver with three years experience makes $23 per hour, a full-time driver with four years experience makes $24 per hour, and a full-time driver with five years experience makes $25 per hour.
Yet drivers earn $8.32 per hour for field trips, according to the bus drivers salary schedule posted on the district web site. It is signed by Dabner and dated Sept. 19, 2016. Robinson proposed increasing their bus drivers field trip pay to $21 per hour.
“We are not able to get bus drivers to drive,” Robinson said. “It’s been very difficult throughout the year because of the disparity in their normal rate of pay versus what their rate of pay would be for field trips. And they will [now] get $21 across the board, whether they are driving daytime, field trips, or for athletic events.”
The board voted to approve Robinson’s request.