Duval School Board to vote on contract with new superintendent. How much will he make?
Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | By Steve Patterson | June 10, 2024
Duval County’s School Board has scheduled a meeting Wednesday to discuss a four-year contract that would pay incoming school district Superintendent Christopher Bernier $320,000 a year.
The deal would represent roughly a 16% increase from what Bernier had been paid as superintendent of Lee County schools in Fort Myers and 6.7% more than former Duval Superintendent Diana Greene’s salary of $300,000 when she retired last year.
Retirement contributions, moving expenses and other extras could push Bernier’s total first-year cost past $365,000.
But that would still be substantially less than a package suggested last week by Bernier’s negotiator in an opening proposal that could have exceeded $455,000.
Duval County schools Superintendent Christopher Bernier talked with school district employees and local residents during a meet-and-greet in May at Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium Bob Self/Florida Times Union
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The school district advertised the superintendent’s job as paying between $275,000 and $350,000 when it invited applications in the spring for a candidate to start work July 1.
The school district countered Bernier with an offer of $280,000 per year, and final terms for an agreement were announced Monday. Among the reductions from Bernier’s initial proposal, the negotiated package drops a request for an allotment of up to $50,000 yearly for mentoring to help Bernier’s development in his job; replaces a $1,000-a-month car stipend with an offer to use a vehicle from the school district’s fleet of cars; and says “reasonable expenses” will be covered for business costs shown by receipts or paid invoices, as opposed to a flat $3,000-a-year allotment for business expenses.
The School Board chose Bernier for the job May 23, concluding a process that had drawn 21 applicants, several with experience as superintendents.
