By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – St. John Parish School System employees are reaping the benefits of a frugal administration with an additional $1,000 going into their next paycheck and a 4 percent annual increase on the way.

The school board announced the raises after meeting in an executive session at Thursday’s school board meeting.

All active employees will be given a one-time payment of $1,000 in their next paycheck.

Employees will also receive a minimum $1,200 recurring raise, or 4 percent of their current salary, beginning July 1.

Board member Keith Jones introduced the motion, stating that all employees have worked very diligently and LEAP scores as a whole have increased.

&#8220We wanted to reward our employees, and we would like everybody to keep up the good work,” Jones said.

Superintendent Michael Coburn had hinted at the possibility of a pay raise after the recent passing of a 4.57 mill property tax that would alleviate money used for school maintenance.

The property tax brings in just under $900,000 annually for St. John’s school system.

Earlier in the meeting, the board voted to reduce some of the property millages, which combined with the pay raise, prompted School Board member Russ Wise to note that the fiscally conservative actions of the school board allowed them to cut taxes while still increasing teachers’ pay – something he considered quite an amazing feat.

&#8220I think we’ve made history tonight. We’ve given a raise and cut taxes in the same meeting,” Wise said.