Oxford School District Adds Chief of Staff, Raises Employee Pay

The Oxford School District Board of Trustees convened on Friday to consider revisions to district salary scales and a new organizational chart.

On July 1, 2021, new superintendent Bradley Roberson will begin his new role as leader of the district, and this marks one of the first changes he has put in motion.

This change comes on the heels of a $1,000 teacher pay raise offered from the state Legislature and a $1,000 local raise offered from the district to its teachers and teacher assistants.

“Our goal from the beginning was to ensure that the salaries of Oxford School District employees were competitive with districts of similar size by getting all employee salaries to the average,” Roberson said.

“No one in the district is taking a pay cut,” he said. “In fact, all employees will receive some sort of raise. If an employee was already at the average salary for his or her respective position, he or she will receive a one-step increase on the pay scale.”

Roberson said the district began planning for employee raises when the budget process first began. “Therefore, providing such raises will only be a minimal increase in the district budget (approximately $7,000),” he said.

OSD employees will see a step increase every two years under the new pay scale system. Employees will be placed on the step rotation based on the year they were hired in the district.

In addition, a new organizational chart was approved as Roberson has recently identified his cabinet members — six chief officers who report directly to Roberson as advisors and leaders of their assigned departments. Five of these individuals have been in the district under different titles with the exception of one, chief of staff, an addition that was previously discussed and approved due to the dissolution of an assistant superintendent position.

“The Oxford School District has incredibly talented administrators and staff leading our district. By redesigning the organizational chart, I wanted to maximize efficiencies so that we continue to grow and serve students, teachers and families with the highest level of service possible in our central office,” Roberson said.  

The salary scales and organizational chart will take effect on July 1.

The Mississippi School Boards Association conducted a salary review of Oxford School District staff for the 2020-2021 school year. Information was gathered from various sources: Mississippi Department of Education Personnel Management Information System, Oxford School District and comparable school district websites.

Job descriptions vary across districts, and many were not readily available for all districts used in the study. The consistent criteria used to compare districts were: similar enrollment and personnel structure and a close proximity to the Oxford School District.

The findings include the following personnel information: district rating, position title, annual salary, days employed, years of experience and degree levels.

On average, the salaries for Oxford administrators compared to those in close
proximity are comparable. When compared to districts with similar enrollment, however,
Oxford salaries frequently rank substantially lower, according to the survey.

Courtesy of Oxford School District