Schools execs get raises, teachers none

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Five top Santa Fe Public Schools administrators received big raises as one of the last acts of outgoing superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez even though teachers and other district employees haven't seen a pay boost in five years.

Teacher union president Bernice Garcia-Baca tells the Santa Fe New Mexican ( http://bit.ly/PwF2kV ) the raises are 'terrible for morale."

District finance chief Carl Gruenler told the New Mexican the school board approved money for the raises last spring. He says the administrator's pay increases reflected changing responsibilities and were meant to help retain top talent.

New superintendent Joel Boyd called the timing of the raises given by Gutierrez "suspicious" but says they were reasonable and he decided to keep them in place.

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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican