DECATUR — School board members voted at the Feb. 18 meeting to offer elementary school principal Jeff Gravette and high school principal Deborah Coffer a new contract for the upcoming school year.

The decision was made after an hour-long executive session.

Coffer and Gravette are both in the middle of their first year at Decatur Schools. Their salaries will be decided at the next board meeting. Principals’ salaries are currently negotiated with the school board.

Superintendent Larry Ben suggested setting a salary schedule for principals with an index to allow the salary to be raised or lowered based on factors such as experience and education.

Board member Kevin Smith raised concerns that such an index would limit hiring opportunities for the district.

The board also discussed standardizing the number of days of work required from principals.

The school board will hold a study session at 6 p.m., March 11, to further explore the administrators salaries, including principals and other positions, such as technology coordinator and federal programs coordinator.

In other business, the board took the following actions:

◊Approved the school’s Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Plan for the 2012-2013 school year. The local school board and Arkansas Department of Education are required to approve the plan each year.

◊ Passed a motion allowing superintendent Larry Ben and district treasurer Terry Burden to obtain a school credit card for vendors that require a credit card. A statement will be part of the school board’s monthly financial report.

◊Approved deletion of the football sled from inventory.

News, Pages 2 on 03/06/2013