Committee
Education; Appropriations
Author
W. Briggs Hopson III
Session
2023 Session
Latest Action
On April 17, the Governor signed SB 2749 into law. It will take effect on July 1, 2023.
Explanation of the Bill
As introduced, Senate Bill 2749 would increase the compensation of school board members. All members could choose to receive $112 per meeting (with a maximum of 36 meetings per year) or $4,000 per year.
School board members can currently choose to be compensated at a rate of $67 per meeting or $2,400 per year.
On February 28, the House Education Committee passed a “strike-all” amendment to SB 2749. As amended, SB 2749 would increase the compensation of school board members in a slightly different manner than the original bill. Members would be able to choose to receive $112 per meeting (with a maximum of 36 meetings per year), or an annual salary that would depend on the school district’s enrollment.
The enrollment-based salaries are detailed in the table below.
| District Enrollment | School Board Member Annual Salary |
| Fewer than 5,000 students $4,000 5,000-9,999 students $4,000-$5,000 10,000+ students $5,000-$6,000r students | $4,000 |
| 5,001-10,000 students | $4,000-$5,000 |
| 10,001+ students | $5,000-$6,000 |
In addition to raising school board member compensation, the amended version of SB 2749 would allow licensed employees of public schools to transfer up to five days of unused sick or personal leave between school districts, should they accept a job in a new school district. Currently, these employees are only able to retain their unused leave if they remain in the same school district. A similar provision was introduced in SB 2365, which died in committee.
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| 1/16/23 | On January 16, SB 2749 was referred to the Senate Education Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. |
| 1/25/23 | On January 25, the Senate Education Committee passed a committee substitute for SB 2749. |
| 1/26/23 | On January 26, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the committee substitute for SB 2749. |
| 2/2/23 | On February 2, the Senate adopted the committee substitute and passed SB 2749. |
| 2/21/23 | On February 21, SB 2749 was referred to the House Education Committee. |
| 2/28/23 | On February 28, the House Education Committee passed a “strike-all” amendment to SB 2749. As amended, the bill would increase school board member compensation in a slightly manner than the original bill. Additionally, it would allow licensed school employees to transfer their sick leave between school districts. |
| 3/7/23 | On March 7, the House passed the amended version of SB 2749. It will now return to the Senate for concurrence. |
| 3/14/23 | On March 14, the Senate invited conference on SB 2749. |
| 3/27/23 | Conferees failed to file a conference report for SB 2749 by the March 27 deadline, causing this bill to die in conference. |
| 3/29/23 | On March 29, SB 2749 was revived via HC 61, which suspended the bill from deadlines. |
| 3/30/23 | On March 30, House and Senate conferees filed a conference report for SB 2749. Similar to the House-amended bill, the conference report would give school board members the option to receive $112 per meeting or an annual salary based on student enrollment. However, unlike the House-amended version of the bill, the conference report would not allow school employees to transfer their days of leave between school districts. Later in the day, the Senate adopted the conference report. |
| 3/31/23 | On March 31, the House adopted the conference report for SB 2749. |
| 4/17/23 | On April 17, the Governor signed SB 2749 into law. It will take effect on July 1, 2023. |