York County School Board members spent significant time Nov. 5 reviewing regional pay data, typical benefits and a proposed timeline for hiring a new superintendent.

Staff presented aggregated compensation data for Virginia and Region 2. The board heard Region 2 reported an average base near $237,185 and large-division averages near $246,676; members noted differences in respondent pools and years of superintendent experience can skew averages.

Board members discussed common contract elements: deferred-compensation matches (staff reported typical initial matches in the single digits and recommended starting the division’s offer near 8%), ERS retirement/life-insurance provisions (staff noted ERS provides baseline life insurance multiples and that supplemental options exist), car allowances versus mileage reimbursement, disability insurance, and leave conversion policies. Staff reminded the board that many benefits are negotiable in the initial offer and often differ between initial contract and renewals.

On compensation, members proposed a public hiring range to guide applicants and negotiations: roughly $185,000 to $225,000 with an initial deferred-compensation match around 8% (members suggested 8–10% as a negotiation band). Board members discussed whether to tie annual superintendent increases to teacher salary adjustments or use fixed-dollar increases; several warned that percentage escalators applied to six-figure salaries produce large nominal changes and that a dollar-amount approach is worth considering.

On relocation and residency, the board said it will ask that the selected superintendent be willing to relocate to York County within a negotiated time frame (board members discussed 12–18 months) and discussed a typical six-month temporary housing stipend used in past searches. The board directed staff to include relocation language in the posting and to reserve detailed relocation amounts for contract negotiations.

On timeline, the board agreed to finalize qualification language immediately, advertise the position Nov. 10–Dec. 10, conduct interviews in January–February, with assistance from the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) on Dec. 18, and aim for a January announcement of a finalist. Staff will supply a regional compensation summary with more detail to guide final offer preparation.