Limestone board of education Chairman Bret McGill said before it became known that Hartselle tapped the Limestone school system’s chief financial officer as a finalist in its nearly six-month search to fill its CSFO vacancy, the school board passed on an informal effort by McGill and Limestone Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk to upgrade the position’s compensation.

Limestone finance chief Jonathan Craft is currently paid $83,499, and will begin on Sept. 1 a three-year, $90,000 annual contract to serve in the same capacity for Hartselle City Schools.

The state Legislature approved a 2 percent increase for K-12 employees effective fiscal 2014, which will increase Craft’s Limestone pay to $85,168 beginning Oct. 1, which is the start of the new fiscal year for school systems statewide.

Craft’s resignation takes effect Oct. 8 due to accrued leave but his last day with the Limestone system is Friday, Aug. 30.

The CSFO reports to the superintendent but has “fiduciary responsibility to the local board of education,” according to the state’s School Fiscal Accountability Act passed in 1996. School boards are responsible for three positions within a school system — the board attorney, superintendent and the CSFO.

The school board gave the superintendent a favorable job review in July. On Aug. 6, the board also approved a one-year extension to Sisk’s original three-year contract and a one-time, $5,000 increase. With the 2-percent state raise, Sisk’s salary for this contract year is $122,300, compared to $115,000 for the first year.

Passing on increase

Sisk and McGill both said they preferred to retain Craft. In retrospect, the superintendent said he could have scheduled a work session to make a formal request to the seven-member board.

“I made the request to Mr. McGill to increase Jonathan’s salary before the Hartselle job, and he went to the board,” Sisk said. “This all occurred before we knew he had applied and was a finalist, and the response was ‘Let’s wait and see what happens.’ A raise has to be a recommendation by the board, but I certainly supported a raise.

“In the long run, I think this works out better for Jonathan because it gives him a fresh opportunity to do things differently with a different system, new challenges and new opportunities.”

The proposal did not go to a formal work session or board meeting, but approval from at least four board members is required to approve a measure.

“There was never a formal offer, and there never seemed to be (majority) board support about giving him a raise,” said McGill, who said Craft’s pay ranks in the middle of 11 school systems that compare to Limestone in average daily enrollment. “I do think we’re looking at hiring in a new (CSFO) in the $85,000 to $95,000 range.”

Differing opinions

The board gave varying reasons for declining to increase the pay for Craft, who was described as a “great” chief financial officer by Sisk and Hartselle Superintendent Vic Wilson.

When contacted by The News Courier, board members Earl Glaze, Charles Shoulders and Marty Adams said they opposed the initial consideration for a pay increase. McGill, James Shannon and Anthony Hilliard said they favored a raise, while Darin Russell said he needed to know the amount of the increase before making a decision at that time.

Shannon said the board made a mistake by not doing more to address keeping Craft with the Limestone system. He added that Craft also had the option to speak to each board member.

“I have worked with Jonathan for 11 years — I could go to him and ask a question, and I would trust his answer,” Shannon said. “I don’t think you should pay someone more just to stay, but I do think we could have done more. I think we let this slip through the cracks.”

Glaze said he believed Craft did not act swiftly enough to provide assistance for a school bookkeeper, a situation that Glaze said was remedied this past school year. Glaze added he “probably would have voted to give him a raise” if a formal vote had occurred. He said Craft has “done a good job,” but “I don’t believe in giving someone a raise just to keep him.”

Shoulders said the board should avoid giving a non-contract employee special consideration for a raise. He said at the time McGill mentioned the possibility of a raise, Shoulders thought “it was because Jonathan was looking to move.”

“My position was that we needed to stay with the progression we’ve always used as an employee goes from one step (on the salary schedule) to the next,” said Shoulders.

Adams said his decision was based on timing. He said Craft did “a great job.”

“At the time, my answer was no, but it was not an emphatic no … we were unsure about BRAC funds at the time and it was before the state mandated the 2 percent raise (for K-12 employees),” Adams said. “It was a timing thing, and the (requested) raise wouldn’t have been an exorbitant amount. I always vote with my conscience and hated to do it because I like Jonathan a lot.”

New challenge

Craft said “it was not about the money” when he decided to leave a system with 13 schools, slightly more than 9,000 students and an $80.3 million operating budget for the current fiscal year.

Hartselle, which has six schools and 3,050 students, has an approximately $24.3 million operating budget, according to Hartselle interim CFSO Lisa McMurray.

“I have made a lot of lifelong friends during the last 11 years. All of the ladies in the accounting department and local school bookkeepers are an exceptional group of people to work with, and the (CSFO) job would not be possible without them,” said Craft, who plans to commute from Athens to Hartselle. “I am looking forward to a new challenge, and meeting and working with new people.”