Pay inequities subject of outsider review

The St. Mary Parish School Board will soon begin accepting bids from outside contractors to research inequities within its salary structure among its administrative and unclassified personnel.

The move comes in the wake of St. Mary Parish Principals’ Association president Joe Stadalis’ request to the board last Tuesday to have the salary structure reviewed.

“As the president of the St. Mary Parish Principals’ Association, I am respectfully requesting the St. Mary Parish School Board to consider conducting a comprehensive salary study regarding all St. Mary Parish School Board employee salaries by an outside contractor,” Stadalis said.

“The purpose of this request is to identify inequities in the salary structure and set future salary goals in order to attract and retain human capital that is essential for the continued academic and operational stability for the St. Mary Parish School District,” he said.

St. Mary School Board Member Edward Payton Jr. was the first to openly receive Stadalis’ comments.

“I knew there were some problems several years ago,” Payton acknowledged.

Board Vice President Mike Taylor agreed. “I kind of like the idea. This has never been done on a broad scale, and it ought to be easy to get data. I think we should get proposals and a few numbers, and come back at our next meeting and discuss this,” he said.

Stadalis said he knew of someone who would do the job for $5,500, however, the board opted to advertise for bid proposals.

The St. Mary Parish School Board is one of the parish’s largest employers, with 308 full-time male and 1,516 female staffers. Of that, 718 are full-time teachers – 579 females and 141 males – who earn an average salary of $44,924.

In other business, the school board approved the following personnel changes:

• Appointed Rachel Wilson principal at Patterson High School; Naomi Harding principal at B.E. Boudreaux Middle School; Ronnie Louis assistant principal at B.E. Boudreaux Middle School; Niki Fryou principal at Hattie Watts Elementary School; Evangeline Butler assistant principal at West St. Mary High; Charles Foulcard assistant principal at Hattie Watts Elementary; Terry Duchane principal at Franklin High School; Robbie Gouaux assistant principal at Morgan City High School; Debra McClarity, coordinator of special instructional services; and Mike Ortiz, compliance officer.

The board also announced these graduation dates: May 15, Berwick and Centerville high schools; May 16, Morgan City, Patterson and Franklin high schools; and, May 17, West St. Mary High School.

Joe Stadalis, president of the St. Mary Parish Principals’ Association, speaks about salary inequities among elementary and high school staff. * Photo by HOWARD J. CASTAY JR.