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Public commenter urges higher teacher pay and questions bus contracting; superintendent warns of state budget pressures
Summary
A Mooresville resident urged the board to increase teacher pay and suggested the district buy buses instead of using contractors; Superintendent Eric Bolin said statewide funding changes and new legislation on referendums create budgetary challenges for districts.
A Mooresville resident urged the MSD Martinsville Schools board to raise teacher pay and to reconsider using contracted bus services, and Superintendent Eric Bolin warned trustees of budget pressures from recent state changes.
Bill Mitchell, who gave his address as 3411 East Sanditon Road, Mooresville, told trustees he had experience with bus contracting and argued the district could save money by owning buses. He said he worked to raise local taxes for schools in the past and questioned whether teachers would receive significant raises: “I worked with scribe board to get the teachers to get more money from the community for the school board from 1 from 4.5 to 8.4 tax increase. And now if I understand, the teacher's not gonna get a very good raise.”
Mitchell also said contracted bus operators often run older buses and he urged the district to consider purchasing buses to reduce contractor profit margins and improve maintenance: “Most of contract drivers are busing since driving buses 8 and 12 years old… they're getting according to the contracts here, they're making about $175 to $200 profit each route per day.” He recommended the district study whether buying buses would be more cost-effective.
Superintendent Eric Bolin responded in his comments section, congratulating students and noting broader budget concerns. Bolin said districts that have lower tax rates compared with neighbors “passed referendums” and that recent state legislation will make referendums harder: “If you saw the new legislation, they're making it harder to pass referendums because schools were being successful.” He told trustees the district faces “turbulent waters ahead with the budget” and said the board and administration will work to mitigate impacts while managing planned facility projects.
The transcript records these public comments and superintendent remarks; the board did not adopt any immediate budget or procurement actions at the meeting, but members said they would study the issues and staff would follow up.
