Barring an unlikely change of heart, the School Board will vote Monday to give Superintendent David Moore an annual pay raise of more than $43,000, plus an increase in his deferred retirement compensation.
Board members discussed the raise, which would boost Moore’s base salary from $195,699 to $239,000, during last week’s workshop session. Both the pay hike and 2.8 percent increase in deferred compensation, would be retroactive to July 1, the start of the district’s fiscal year.
“I think this is a very reasonable and appropriate right-sizing of his salary,” said Gene Posca, the board member who last month proposed giving Moore a significant raise.
“Part of my argument for such an increase, which I stated last time, is that if we were to lose him, it would probably cost us a lot more to find an adequate replacement,” he added. “To me, this is a no-brainer.”
Board members Peggy Jones and Kevin McDonald voiced their support for the raise, both agreeing that Moore deserves to be paid more, given the district’s success with him at the helm.
Since Moore was hired in November 2019, the county’s school system has undergone a spectacular transformation – from an underachieving, poorly run and financially mismanaged district to the envy of the state.
Not only has Moore’s leadership produced back-to-back “A” grades from the Florida Department of Education and lifted the district to a top-10 state ranking, but he also cleaned up the financial mess left by his predecessor, Mark Rendell, and noticeably improved employee morale.
Cost aside, McDonald said, the board needs to make every effort to keep Moore, warning that “it would be very hard to get someone nearly as good” to replace him.
Board Chair Teri Barenborg said she’d be willing to raise Moore’s salary even higher, citing a fiercely competitive market for superintendents in Florida and the fact that, even with the proposed raise, he’ll not be getting what he’s worth.
She said Moore currently mentors less-experienced superintendents in other districts, where they’ll continue to make as much or more than he does.
“To me, he deserves more than you’re proposing,” Barenborg said. “I’d like to propose $250,000.
And the reason I say that is because I know what the market is. I know what’s happening across the state. … I want him to stay.”
Board member Jackie Rosario, who steadfastly promotes the Moms For Liberty agenda and often has been at odds with Moore, offered the only opposition to the proposed raise, saying the increase is “excessive.”
She argued Moore’s total compensation package already includes an $800-per-month car allowance, adding that, if the proposed raise is approved, his deferred compensation would jump from 5 percent to 7.8 percent. She also mentioned a $7,500 increase he will receive for earning a certification.
“That’s a total of $275,000,” Rosario said. “That’s a lot of money. … And there’s nothing in the contract that says he can’t come to us next year and ask for another increase, once he gets the district to where all of our schools are an ‘A.’
“Where would the limit be then?” she continued. “When do we draw the limit – another $20,000, another $30,000, another $40,000 … There doesn’t seem to be any boundaries here.
“He deserves a raise,” she added. “I just don’t think this is the right raise.”
Rosario said Moore told her he would accept $225,000 annually and defended her position, which she described as “fiscally responsible” and “frugal.”
Moore said he never approached any board member and asked for a raise – that he has honored his contract, a three-year deal that automatically rolls over on every June 30, unless one of the parties decides otherwise.
He declined to respond when asked if he had received offers from other districts or employers.
“I’m simply looking to engage in a conversation to ensure my longevity in a community me and my wife love to be a part of,” Moore, 52, told the board at the workshop, adding that he believes the proposed raise is “absolutely appropriate.”
After the session, Moore said he believes the raise is a “done deal,” and that he’s “happy the board is willing to invest in me and our community.”
A workshop discussion about Moore’s salary in August prompted Posca to recommend at last month’s board meeting that the superintendent’s annual pay be increased to $239,000.
Posca said Moore’s compensation package was “at the bottom in the state,” and that the board needed to pay the superintendent what he’s worth in the today’s market.
He rejected Rosario’s contention that it would be wrong to pay Moore as much as the superintendent of a considerably larger district in St. Lucie County, which has nearly twice as many schools and three times the number of students.
St. Lucie Superintendent Jon Prince receives a base salary of $240,000 per year.
“At the end of the day, would you rather have the superintendent in St. Lucie?” Posca asked. “Or would we trade Dr. Moore for him?
“I think everyone would say unanimously: No.”
