The Hendry County School Board voted to move senior-level administrators out of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) senior-management class and into the regular FRS class and to reallocate the employer retirement contribution into base salary through a new administrative salary matrix, pending final state approval by FRS.

CFO Jason Adams presented the proposal and the district’s analysis, saying the change reallocates money already paid into senior-management retirement and does not use general-fund dollars. “Moving senior management to regular class at the current salaries of the participants in senior management would at the 20.89 percent bring a total district savings of $464,163.68,” Adams told the board. He also presented a first-year net figure that the district staff characterized as a modest savings to the general fund once the salary matrix is implemented.

Why it matters: District staff and the board argued the move combats long-standing pay compression between instructional, noninstructional and administrative staff by moving retirement benefit dollars into salary. Because FRS policy governs employer contributions and classes, the district must submit documentation and secure state approval before the change can take effect; district staff said any approved change would begin July 1.

What the board approved and how it will work:
- Action taken: The board approved district staff moving forward with documentation and submittal to FRS for the change. Board members framed the action as approval to pursue state approval rather than an immediate personnel change.
- Timing: District staff said any approved change would become effective on July 1 following state approval of the request; the board noted the FRS window for changes opens in January and that administrative work and paperwork take time.
- Funding and budget effect: Adams presented an estimated district-level reduction in employer retirement costs if the move is approved; district staff said the reallocated funds would be placed into a salary matrix to raise administrative pay and address compression. Staff emphasized repeatedly that no new general-fund dollars would be required to implement the recommendation.

Board debate and ethics notes: Board members discussed legal and practical implications, including whether elected officials’ compensation and elected classes would be affected; district counsel and staff said elected-class FRS designations (for constitutional officers) were separate and would not change automatically under the proposal. A board member recused herself from the vote, explaining she had a spouse in administration; the board then voted in favor of the district’s motion to pursue the change with the state.

What remains: Staff said the district will continue working with FRS and with the state’s review process; if state review raises questions the district intends to use the interval to respond and, if necessary, pursue additional legislative or legal pathways. District staff also presented a proposed administrative salary matrix to implement the reallocated funds; the board’s approval authorized staff to move forward with paperwork and to seek the state-level approval required to implement the matrix beginning July 1 if the state consents.

No immediate payroll changes were made at the meeting; implementation depends on FRS approval and final board-approved salary schedules.