DELAND -- Even though Volusia School Board Chairwoman Judy Conte was against it saying it "sends the wrong message," Superintendent of Schools Margaret Smith gave herself a 2 percent pay cut Sept. 30, to bring her base salary down to $171,665, a drop of $3,506.
Smith said she wanted to set an example after other school administrators saw their salaries cut by 2 percent in response to a $45.8 million shortfall in state revenue.
She also decided to turn in a 2006 Buick Lucerne when its board lease was to expire in December and instead accept a $650 car allowance and drive her own vehicle and use that money to pay for gas and insurance.
Smith also gave up a $17,516 performance bonus, but at some point down the road could reclaim it under provisions of her contract.
Courtesy photo. Volusia Superintendent of Schools Margaret Smith.