Manatee School Board approves $245,000 superintendent contract

The School District of Manatee County came to agreement with new Superintendent Laurie Breslin on an salary of $245,000 before Breslin was sworn in during the school board meeting Sept. 9.

Previous Superintendent Jason Wysong was making $244,000 when he was dismissed early this year.

Board Member Chad Choate said the median salary for superintendents in Florida is $252,000.

Breslin’s contract includes incentives, such as “The Superintendent shall receive a $10,000 annual salary bonus starting with the 2025-26 school year for achieving and/or maintaining an “A” rating with the State Department of Education for the district and a separate $2,500 annual bonus for achieving a district graduation rate of 90% or higher as determined by the DOE.”

Bresln said those are obtainable goals.

“I feel very confident in our school district, from what I see happening in the classrooms and with the great teachers we have,” Breslin said. “We are in such a wonderful place here in Manatee County. We are doing great things, and we'll continue to do that A status, but more importantly make sure that all of our children are safe and protected.” 

The School District of Manatee is currently a B district with a graduation rate of 88%.

Choate said he sees it as if Breslin is the quarterback on a football team. 

“You do have 10 other positions with you that are making things happen, but that quarterback, Tom Brady, gets an extra bonus when he throws X amount of touchdowns and does X amount of this,” Choate said. “That was my thought, to incentivize the leader to make sure that we're doing exactly what we should be doing.” 

School Board Member Richard Tatem said there is a substantial difference between private companies, like the owner of a football team, and a government organization, such as the school system. He said that the teachers are the ones who are there on the ground doing the work. 

“It's a perverse incentive to give the leader of a government organization paid by the taxpayers that kind of bonus," Tatem said.

Tatem said a football organization is “a different animal.” 

School Board Member Charlie Kennedy said the board approved a motion to authorize the chair to negotiate the superintendent contract without the entire school board, and he along with Breslin and their attorneys decided that the performance-based incentive would be included.

“I'm uncomfortable with negotiating on the fly in the room or taking things out or adding things during the meeting,” Kennedy said.

School Board Vice Chair Cindy Spray said she understands that the board gave Choate the power to negotiate the contract, but recommended that a contract of this level of importance should be discussed before being brought to a vote in the future.

“I would like to remove (the bonus) because that's what we're paying the superintendent to do,” Spray said. “That is the goal of any superintendent to get us to an A and get our graduation rate up.” 

School Board Member Heather Felton agreed that going forward it would be good to discuss contracts before voting, as to not pull apart the contract without the attorneys present. 

Photo by Madison Bierl

Spray and Tatem voted to remove the performance pay incentive, but the remaining board members wanted it to be kept in the contract. They approved the original contract brought to the meeting in a unanimous vote. 

Jack Lowrance is a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School and was present at the superintendent search meet and greet on Aug. 18, where he expressed his support for Breslin. He said the bonuses are overall beneficial to the district, but also understands that the teachers and students are who ultimately put in the work.

"Teachers are not payed nearly enough, and the quality of some teachers in our school system reflects that," Lowrance said. "Teacher pay and superintendent pay aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Any policy that incentivizes improvement in the district is a positive for me."

The contract began Sept. 9 and expires June 30, 2028 unless extended. The school board must make a decision on whether to extend it by March 31, 2028. The termination without cause was modified to just be a 30-day notice rather than the 90-day notice that was Wysong’s prior contract.

“Breslin stepped that down to 30 days notice so that is what I think is a show of good faith,” Kennedy said. “She's just here to work with us and work with this district, and is not asking for anything extra.”

The superintendent and school board will create “School District Goals” for each school year. The board shall evaluate the superintendent each year and make it a public document. 

“She's going to have great success. We all are,” said Kevin Chapman, the previous interim superintendent. “She's incredibly talented and the board couldn't have chosen a better superintendent. With her leadership, we’re destined for great success.” 

Chapman previously served as the executive director of administration, or chief of staff, prior to being named interim superintendent. He is now will be the associate superintendent of administration and strategic engagement. At the meeting, the school board approved the new job description. Chapman said he will be doing the same job as his previous title, but they have added the human resources department to his duties.