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Hightower Reelected Without Opposition

Supervisor of Elections David Stafford phoned Patty on Friday, June 20th to tell her neither of her opponents who had prefiled to run against her had qualified by the deadline. The result is that Patty is the only candidate who officially qualified, and is therefore elected without opposition in this non-partisan election.

Patty said, " I want to thank all my friends and supporters who have helped me in this campaign as well as my previous one. I will continue to place our children first in my decisions on the school board. I look forward to working with the new superintendent in November."

Because the election is uncontested, Patty's name will not appear on the August or November ballot.

 
 

Hightower Retains Leadership of Escambia School Board

From staff reports (Pensacola News Journal - November 21, 2007)
Patty Hightower will continue as chairwoman of the Escambia County School Board.

Hightower was re-elected to the post at a Tuesday morning annual organizational meeting of the board.

School Board member Pete Gindl was re-elected board vice chairman.

Board members also voted to keep regular monthly meetings at 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

Monthly workshops will continue to be at 9 a.m. the Friday prior to the monthly meeting. The monthly meetings and workshops will be in Room 160 of the J.E. Hall Center, 30 E. Texar Drive.
 
 

 

Escambia Teachers Get Raises


Michael Stewart (Pensacola News Journal - November 28, 2007)
A five-year plan to bring Escambia County schoolteachers' salaries up to the state average was finalized Tuesday night.

The School Board voted 5-0 to increase teacher pay by an average of 8.26 percent for the fifth and final year of an effort to increase salaries.

West Florida High School science teacher Cathy Boehme, who sits on the teachers' union bargaining team, thanked the board for listening to teachers' concerns during negotiations.

"I sincerely hope this ongoing dialogue will continue in the future," she said at the meeting at the J.E. Hall Center on Texar Drive.

Under the plan, incoming teachers with a bachelor's degree will earn $32,000 a year, nearly $3,000 above the 2007-08 estimated statewide average for beginning teachers.

The maximum pay for a teacher with bachelor's degree in Escambia County will top out at $51,000. The estimated top pay statewide for a teacher with a bachelor's degree is expected to be $48,552.

Teachers with master's and doctorate degrees earn more.

"It's a momentous occasion but the work is not done," School Board Chairwoman Patty Hightower said.

The plan also includes an overhaul of teacher "step raises," which are cost-of-living increases for each year of service.

In the past, teachers received disparate step increases. But the new agreement calls for a uniform 2 percent increase between steps.

A 5 percent pay increase for school support personnel also was approved.