School district continues to work on employee compensation plan
The School District of Lee County continues to move forward with its compensation plan, so it can remain competitive in a growing market.
On Sept. 9, Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Shanna Johnston told the school board that the ability to attract and retain top talent is one of the most important levers that they have for student success.
“Our vision is what we are building toward — an objective open-range compensation system that is easy to understand and is accessible for every employee and future employee,” she said.
Johnston said it is clear that there is an historic lack of consistency in the district.
“Phase two is so critical. It’s not a redesign, realignment of the entire compensation philosophy,” she said. “Compensation work is much more than money. Just like our compensation system, the real value is what is inside. Our compensation strategy is layered — fair placement, transparency, pathways to see how to grow, and impact that aligns with student success. It’s about creating a system that supports, sustains, and retains our people.”
Employee Relations Senior Director Dr. Ron Iarussi said the effort began in October 2023 when the district brought in Evergreen to do a comprehensive review of salary and its pay system. Because of the study, an analysis and determination were had, so a structure could be implemented that would evolve over time to get to full implementation of an open range system.
The pay grade system is a range that starts with minimum compensation before going to mid-point and maximum.
“After May 2024 when Evergreen made recommendations, the district implemented a compensation department,” he said, adding the district now has a senior coordinator of compensation and three analysts to assist. “They are doing current work to help establish what new employees and salaries are and taking these pay grades and implementing the phase two part.”
There are four employee groups: school-based administrators, central office administrators, Teachers Association of Lee County (TALC) and Support Personnel Association of Lee County (SPALC), and Schedule N.
“It will take us to spring 2027 to complete all of the work. Everyone is in transition until we can do all the analysis,” Iarussi said.
Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin said compensation is a complex body of work that is worthwhile. It is not just a one-time deal, but rather ongoing work that will be addressed with a timeline.
“It is certainly something that has been missing. I am excited about the notion about succession planning,” she said. “We want to make sure that we have employees that are working their way through the organization and reach their dream job.”
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