Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington County School District One took action Tuesday night to reward the district’s superintendent Dr. Greg Little for his performance in leading the district. Little’s contract was amended so that he will receive a raise, a contract extension and several other incentives for his performance and meeting or exceeding the board’s expectations for him.
In the amendment, Little received a 2.5% increase which takes his annual salary to $209,482. Additionally, his contract was extended through June of 2024 and he will begin receiving a $12,000 per year retention bonus in the fiscal year that begins in 2020. This bonus is contingent on him continuing to receive satisfactory performance evaluations. These are common in big business, large systems, and intended to prevent others from coming in and trying to lure Little away with the offer of more money elsewhere. He also received a 2% increase in contributions to his annual annuity. This is really an insurance policy that is paid into while someone is working and pays them a fixed amount that normally starts after their retirement. This would be in addition to his SC State Retirement benefits. These are also common in larger systems and used as an incentive to lure top talent. They also increased by six months the amount of severance he would be offered if the board decided at any point to terminate him.
Superintendents are much like CEOs of large corporations. They oversee huge budgets, a large staff at the company’s headquarters, which in this case is the district office, building and expansion plans, as well as facility maintenance, health care for thousands of students, more food services than all the restaurants in a mid-sized city combined, an IT program with includes tens of thousands of computers and networks, a large fleet of vehicles, and more. Most have a Doctorate Degree in education and an extensive background in teaching and management.
Both of Little’s parents were educators. He came to Lexington One from the Mt. Airy City Schools in May of 2016. He had been there since 2011. Mt. Airy is best known as the hometown of Andy Giffith. Mayberry, the fictional town that was used in the television show, was loosely based on Mt. Airy. The school system there is tiny in comparison to Lexington One, which is our county’s largest district. Little is known for his energy level and committed the first year he was at District One to try and visit every school and classroom in he district.
According to Lexington One’s website, Little graduated in 1997 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Seven years later he earned a Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction, followed by a Doctor of Education in curriculum and instruction. Both were from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has had experience teaching at both the university and K-12 levels.
Little became the superintendent upon the retirement of Superintendent Dr. Karen Woodward.
