WBRC has a formal request in BCS for the exact amount.

Board member Derrick Billups said while he supports the superintendent and BCS is moving in the right direction, he wants to make sure the salary increase is driven by data and comparable school districts.

Neonta Williams said while the school system has made significant progress, including academic gains and proficiency, it doesn’t warrant an increase that would reach or exceed the state superintendent’s salary.

All the other board members who spoke said the superintendent exceeded all his metrics and should be compensated for how much BCS has improved since he took over.

“We’ve seen big improvements,” Sullivan said. “Like last year, we had 81 percent of our third graders reading on grade level, while we had 50 percent before that. We’ve reduced our chronic absenteeism rate over the last three years from 29% to about 20%, so that’s really a testament to the work that our employees do, a testament to the work that our board members do. administration making resources available to ensure our school system is successful.”

Sullivan took over as superintendent in the spring of 2020. He said his greatest accomplishment was leading the school district through the pandemic and seeing incredible growth come out the other side.