SAN BENITO — The San Benito schools superintendent has been seeing a bump in his paycheck recently.
Due to a provision in his contract, the board of trustees revisited his benefits to adjust his salary.
Nate Carman joined the district more than six months ago with a starting salary of $175,000.
His contract, which can be found on the school district’s website, states the board would consider a salary adjustment within the first six months of the agreement.
That’s why Carman’s salary jumped to $198,800.
While the $23,800 pay increase is significant, the new adjustment still leaves Carman’s salary slightly below the state’s average.
According to a survey conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards, superintendents in districts with school populations greater than 10,000, such as SBCISD, were making an average of more than $221,000.
Schools with student populations of 5,000 to 10,000 averaged a salary of more than $200,000.
Carman also received a monthly housing allowance of $1,600.
While a housing allowance is rare, it is not unheard of.
In the survey, 8 percent or 61 districts claimed to offer a type of housing allowance.
In a statement released by the district, due to the instability with the district’s top position over the past few years, the board intentionally made an offer to Carman under the market value.
“It is no secret that in San Benito CISD’s past couple of years, we have had a dismal track record of retaining superintendents for longer than two years,” board president Michael Vargas said.
In the past 10 years, the district has had nine different people hold the superintendent position in one form or another.
The previous superintendent, Adrian Vega, served for less than two years before resigning.
Before Vega, Mark Puig joined the district at the beginning of 2015 and left before the year ended.
Two different people took over during the six month gap between Vega and Puig.
Vargas said the raise is a result of the changes and work Carman has done since joining the district.
“We did this because Dr. Carman has proven, in such a short amount of time, his relentless pursuit to make San Benito CISD the gold standard in all areas of public education,” Vargas said.
Vargas said the move will help provide the district with leadership stability and sustainability.
“With his recent equitable salary adjustment, which finally puts him at market value relative to his counterparts across the Rio Grande Valley, the board has shown we are dedicated to working with Dr. Carman for the long haul.”
Carman’s contract also requires Carman to live within the district during his tenure and participate in school and community events.
What’s in the contract?
• $23,800 raise
• $1,600 monthly housing allowance
• $200 monthly phone allowance
• Required to live within district
• Strongly encouraged to participate in community and civic affairs