IRVINE : $400 Stipend Reinstated by Trustees

A divided school board voted this week to reinstate a $400-a-month stipend that was cut to $100 a month in the aftermath of the county bankruptcy.

Trustee Hank Adler, who was on the losing end of Tuesday night’s 3-2 vote, has vowed to continue his fight to reduce the amount of compensation received by the Irvine Unified School District’s five board members.

“This is a public service job,” Adler said, who voted with trustee Tom Burnham against the increase.

Adler said he could live with the $400-a-month stipend were it not for the school district health insurance package also offered to school board members. The two benefits amount to about $10,000 a year for each school board member, Adler said, adding that he will propose eliminating the medical benefit for future board members.

School board members are entitled to free medical, dental and vision coverage, with an option of paying $75 a month to include family members in the district’s medical coverage, said Don Chadd, risk manager for Irvine Unified.

School board President Mary Ellen Hadley, who voted with trustees Michael Regele and Margie Wakeham to reinstate the full stipend, said the district’s compensation for school board members is not out of line with what other Orange County districts pay.

Without the benefits, some community members might be unable to serve because of financial hardships, said Hadley, who is also regional director of the California School Boards Assn.

“There’s no doubt that there are different levels of financial resources on our board,” Hadley said, “but for some, the insurance benefit is an important benefit.”