Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

At its meeting Monday night the Brighton Board of Education voted to give Superintendent Matthew Outlaw an extension of his contract and a hefty salary increase. It was a split, 4-3 vote on a contentious and divided board, with members Alicia Reid, Angela Krebs, Jennifer Marks and President Roger Myers voting yes and Andy Storm, John Conely and Bill Trombley voting no.

With the new salary, Outlaw - who has been at the helm for about four years - will be earning a base salary of $220,000 per year. That marks a substantial, $35,000 increase over his old salary of $185,000. He will also be given a percentage of the proceeds from the Shared Services program, in which the Brighton Area Schools provides non-core curriculum courses, including Advanced Placement classes, to small schools and districts that can’t afford to have specialized teachers or programs. As a result, Brighton is able to claim a portion of the home district’s per-pupil state aid for providing the courses.

Part of the successful motion was to extend Outlaw’s contract by one year, through 2028. However board Trustee Andy Storm said Outlaw shouldn’t get an increase because he hasn’t had a performance evaluation yet this year.

Outlaw told WHMI after the meeting that he was “very thankful, and looking forward to making the district the best it can be.” He continued, quote, “I grew up in this town, so it’s an honor to be serving this district as superintendent.”

Myers said that he researched the matter and discovered that Outlaw was at the bottom of the pay scale among superintendents of top districts by “tens of thousands of dollars.” Myers said he found it perplexing that Outlaw’s salary was so low, given the fact that, in his words, "Brighton is in the top ten in the state in test scores and academic achievement.”

Board Vice President Bill Trombley countered with the argument that if the superintendent is being given a big salary increase on the basis of high test scores, then teachers should also. Trombley said, in his words, “Teachers work with students every day and are the reason why test scores are up.”

Brighton teachers are in the second year of a 3-year contract that was described at the time by Board Treasurer John Conely as “the largest increase in history, or at least the last 20 years.” In it, teachers received a 4.5% salary increase the first year and get raises of 3.5% this year and 2% in 2024-25. The pay increase actually amounts to raises of 5%, 4% and 2.5% since teachers receive another 0.5% for completing professional development.

Under the contract, Outlaw also gets a $5,000 stipend for having an advanced degree - a PhD, in his case - which is unchanged from the previous contract. He will also be eligible for a 10% “longevity” increase next October and will continue to get 25 vacation days, as in the old contract.