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Council signals intent to provide $1.009M to raise starting teacher pay despite procedural concerns
Summary
Petersburg City Council voted to confirm its intention to adopt a supplemental appropriation of $1,009,000 to raise starting teacher pay to $60,000 so the school board can issue offers; some council members criticized the timing and said a public hearing should precede such action but voted yes to avoid delaying contracts.
Petersburg City Council on Wednesday confirmed its intention to adopt a supplemental appropriation to provide $1,009,000 in local funding to raise starting teacher pay to $60,000.
Mayor Samuel Perham explained the resolution is intended to allow the school board to issue offers and set salary levels while the formal appropriation and statutory public hearing are scheduled for a later meeting. City staff said the state budget’s late timing required an accelerated schedule to avoid delaying teacher recruitment.
Councilmember Coburn objected to handling the intention before a public hearing, calling the procedure “not right” and saying council should hear the public first. “I am opposed to the procedure that we’re following because it basically says that we are making a decision that requires a public hearing before we’ve heard from the public,” he said, though he voted in favor to avoid delaying teacher hires. Other council members said they supported moving forward to secure teachers.
The resolution passed on a roll call. Staff will return with the formal supplemental appropriation and a public hearing at a later meeting, and the school board may proceed with offers in the interim based on council’s stated intent.
