FULLERTON : Schools’ Budget Gives Employees a 2% Raise

The Fullerton School District this week adopted a $46.4-million budget that gives all district employees a 2% raise.

The raise is the first in three years for the district’s principals, whose salaries have been the lowest among principals in the county for years, board President Robert C. Fisler said.

Now the principals’ salaries will match the county median--about $55,000, Fisler said. He said he was satisfied with the board’s move but disappointed that his colleagues did not support his proposal to also give principals gradual pay raises throughout their careers with the district.

Fisler’s idea was to give principals raises once they reach their fifth, eighth, 12th, 16th and 20th year in the district.

“Right now, all principals--those who just started and those who have been here 30 years--are making the same amount of money,” Fisler said. “I wish they could get higher salaries, because I feel principals are important in delivering the excellent education we want. . . . People forget sometimes that great programs don’t occur in a vacuum. You have to have great leadership and great teachers.”