Taking advantage of a new law that eliminates the ceiling on school board pay, Jordan board members will discuss Tuesday just how much more they should earn per year. Members point to the long hours the job requires and how much more elected officials earn in other positions as justification for a salary boost.

And they're right - at least on one point. From legislators to city council members, some elected officials earn far more than the board of the state's largest school district.

Take Sandy City: A council member makes, on average, nearly $14,500 per year, averaging about $48 per hour. An average legislator earns nearly $20,000 in a year through a combination of pay for meetings and other expenses.

Before the law was changed, school board members could earn only $3,000 in a year, plus compensation for extra meetings. In 2006, the highest paid Jordan board member earned $3,780.

"I'm not going to have any trouble justifying it in my mind," said board member Tracy Cowdell, who estimates he devotes 20 hours a week to his Jordan position. "I know the time commitment I'm putting in."

The new law on board pay took effect July 1 but does not require boards to change their compensation. Whether Jordan's action causes a domino effect with other boards remains to be seen. Several of the state's largest districts, including Davis, Granite and Alpine, have not talked about acting on the law.

With the looming possibility of a significant board raise, the Jordan teachers' union plans to pay attention.

"Our members will be very interested in hearing the outcome," said Robin Frodge, president of the Jordan Education Association, which has about 2,000 members. "Serving on school boards is considered to be public service, but with the ever increasing demands of life and workloads, it's understandable that school boards would want to transition to being more like part-time jobs."

Just how much of a raise the board will agree to isn't known, but the public will be able to comment on any proposals Tuesday during a public hearing.

"I think the probability is very high we will raise [the pay]," said board president J. Dale Christensen. "We just didn't determine what to do with it as far as the number goes."

But higher pay isn't intended to attract people to the job, he said.

"I guess I have a philosophy that you want to draw people into school boards because they have a love and passion for public education," the president said. Christensen typically puts in time on school board business every day through constituents' calls, e-mails, letters and his work on agendas and meetings. Tuesdays, board meeting day, can require three to nine hours on the job.

Randy Brinkerhoff, a Jordan board member, had to go part-time and change some job responsibilities due to his board duties. The stress is one of the reasons he thinks members should be paid more.

"If I was doing this at a regular job I would be tempted to find another job that doesn't have as much stress," he said.

He believes he puts in as much time, if not more, than his wife, a Riverton City Council member "and she gets paid four times as much." Riverton council members earn $10,798 per year plus a cell phone allowance.

"Who else would you know who would do this kind of work for $3,000 a year?" he said.

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* JULIA LYON can be contacted at jlyon@sltrib.com or 801-257-8748.

Hearing

A public hearing on salaries for members of the Jordan Board of Education is Tuesday at 6 p.m., at the Jordan district administration building, 9361 S. 300 East.