Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson has been on the job for 2 and half years and hasn't received a raise.
Now the board compensation subcommittee is recommending he get one and sources tell action news it's substantial.
Larry Moore: "We would not object to that but when he receives a raise that's two or three times larger than everyone else, that's demoralizing to teachers."
Fresno Teachers Association President Larry Moore says it took two years for teachers to get an eight percent raise and the district claimed it couldn't even afford that.
Now, Moore says word of a huge pay raise for the district's leader smacks of hypocrisy and special treatment.
"It gives the appearance of greed and it's that 'I am more important than everyone else in the community."
The district wouldn't release details of the deal and district officials said Hanson didn't have time to talk to action news about it.
But his current salary is competitive with other districts similar in size to Fresno.
Hanson oversees 85-thousand students and is paid 259-thousand dollars including benefits.
Long Beach Unified has 91-thousand students and its superintendent earns 227-thousand dollars a year.
The superintendent at Santa Ana Unified is responsible for 55-thousand kids and is paid 256-thousand a year.
Carol Mills and the rest of the Fresno Unified School Board will ultimately decide whether Hanson gets his raise and how much at a meeting Wednesday night.
She says a decision now would be premature considering budget talks won't happen until February and the state may cut the education budget mid-year.
Carol Mills: "Without getting into specifics yes, I do have a concern over the amount, I have a concern over not having this available to the public for them to comment and provide input."
No one we talked to is against Superintendent Hanson getting a raise they just believe it should be reasonable considering teachers got an 8% raise.
