Board votes to suspend central-office stipends after split substitute motion

A motion to suspend the payment of all stipends to central office employees while a review is conducted — and to require full board approval for extra-duty stipends going forward — drew sharp division among trustees before ultimately passing on May 26.

Mrs. Debra Schum introduced the request and Trustee Triche moved the main motion. Trustee Burl offered a substitute motion to change the effective date; the substitute (moved by Burl, seconded by Holden) failed on a 5–5 roll call (yeas: Holden, Burl, Keller, DeFrancesch, Johnson; nays: Sanders, Jones, Wallace, Triche, Mitchell-Williams; Schum absent). The board then voted on the original motion as presented, which passed 9–1 (yeas: Holden, Keller, Sanders, DeFrancesch, Jones, Johnson, Wallace, Triche, Mitchell-Williams; nay: Burl; one absent: Schum).

Board minutes record the motion’s effective date as June 10, 2022, for suspension during the review. The motion does not specify the scope of the review, a timeline for completion, or whether suspended stipend payments would be recovered if the review finds no issues.

Proponents framed the motion as a measure to ensure oversight of extra-duty pay; opponents objected to the breadth and timing of the suspension. The minutes do not include extended quoted debate beyond roll-call results.