Despite objections from community members who said it’s too high compared to teachers’ salaries, Germantown School District residents have approved a yearly stipend of $5,480 for each school board member.

After community members spoke on both sides of the issue at a packed meeting of the district electorate Dec. 11, the proposed stipend was approved 161-113 by written ballot. One person abstained. Residents of the district 18 and over could vote.

Since the Germantown School Board announced the proposed stipend a few months ago, a community group voiced concern that the compensation was much higher than teachers’ current pay when compared on an hourly basis.

When viewed in that light, the stipend, according to Elisabeth Lambert, founder of Wisconsin Education Law & Policy Hub, is nearly four times the pay of the district teachers.

The amount is not an increase from last year, according to school district documents.

But Melissa Garves, Grassroots Germantown member and spokesperson for the stipend issue, said the “loss of teachers year-to-date due to the complete lack of respect they receive from the board” is the reason people are advocating for school board members and teachers to have the same hourly rate.

“Teachers are the greatest asset our district has and the board is failing them,” she said.

Before the stipend was approved, Garves proposed to set stipends at $1,400 for each school board member, a motion seconded by William Walter. After nearly an hour-long discussion, the idea was voted down 157-125.

How is the hourly rate for teachers and school board members computed?

According to school district documents, the $5,480-a-year stipend was for 34 hours of combined school board and committee meetings. That works out to just over $161 an hour for each of the seven school board members. Lambert pointed out that district teachers average $41 an hour.

Lambert said the calculation of $41 an hour is based on Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction data showing the average annual Germantown teacher salary as $63,216.

Germantown teachers are required by the school board to be in their school buildings for eight hours a day, 190 school days each year for a total of 1,520 hours, according to district documents. This pay amount does not include health insurance and other benefits for teachers.

Community members on both sides spoke out

During the meeting, dozens of community members on both sides of the issue spoke out for nearly an hour and a half.

Former school board member Sarah Larson, who spoke in favor of the $5,480 stipend, said the 34 hours does not take into account all the interview time for new staff, attending school functions and reading the packet of information before the meeting. The time spent can be “7 hours per packet” and is a “far cry from 34 hours,” she said.

Larson’s husband Mike Larson added later in the meeting that one cannot compare a board member to a teacher. The teachers have “lucrative insurance,” he said. He emphasized that school board members should be paid for the work they do and so should teachers.

Emily Blanchard spoke in favor of the $ 1,400-a-year stipend.

“Board members put in extra hours … that is true for our teachers,” Blanchard said. Along with the extra hours, Blanchard said teachers sometimes spend their own money on supplies and other things, do unpaid prep work and communicate with parents late at night.

In a statement sent to the Journal Sentinel after the meeting, Garves said she was “disappointed” in the decision.

“Our teachers who work for significantly less per hour than our board members are waiting for the board to do their jobs,” she said. “No matter the outcome, the Germantown School District has not shown anyone a comprehensive plan to ensure our teachers have a competitive salary and benefits package.”

While disappointed in the outcome, Garves said “we hope the community that was unable to attend still hears the board loud and clear regarding their priorities. It is not our teachers and students. The board will continue to ignore the concerns raised by a substantial portion of our community because they are focused on their personal and political agendas.”

School board president Brian Medved could not be immediately reached for a comment on the decision.

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Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on X at @kozlowicz_cathy.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: It passed, but many Germantown voters object to school board salary