Dive Brief:
- WHEC in Rochester, NY is investigating why Rochester City School Board members are paid, an oddity given the fact that the district is one of only three in the entire state that pays its board members.
- According to the report, Van White, the school board president, gets paid $30,000 a year and everyone else on the seven-person board gets paid over $20,000.
- The news report asks viewers to juxtapose this fact with the reality that most school board members gets paid nothing and in the two other districts where payment happens -- Syracuse and Buffalo -- the most anyone is getting paid is $7,500.
Dive Insight:
When asked why Rochester City School Board members make as much as they do, White told the WHEC reporter, “While people may not believe it, it is an incredibly difficult job. I feel very comfortable saying I think every board member earns every dollar they earn. But by the way, they don't do it for the money.” Currently, the district is spending about $150,000 on board members.
