Floyd County: Drunken sailors welcome here.

It's just surreal, that's all.

We've shifted from perpetual scorched earth into full speed drive-through windows framed with gold, as the city and county bond millions in a Parks Race, and the school corporation silences the earth movers charged with devouring the neighborhood around NAHS just long enough to fatten pay packets ... well, let's party!

All NA-FC employees deserving a pay raise, please step forward.

(Umm, not so fast, teachers)

New Albany-Floyd County school board approves raises, by Grace Schneider (CJ)

After a string of years where tight budgets ruled, the New Albany-Floyd County school board opened the checkbook Monday night and approved salary increases for bus drivers, cooks, principals, school psychologists and top administrators.

Principals and other central-office administrators received the largest increase, 1.5 percent overall, with a few receiving 4 percent or more under a package that aims to standardize pay rates for positions ...

... The pay increases come after the school board voted unanimously last October to approve no pay increases for the school system’s 650 teachers under a contract that covered the last school year. The board also voted to drastically reduce teacher health care benefits, saying the reductions were necessary because of an expected $2.8 million reduction in state aid during 2012-2013.

Before the 5-1 vote, board member Becky Gardenour said she objected to taking action on administrator raises before the board could consider what to do for teachers.

“To me, we should be dealing with the teachers before the administrators. I think it’s backwards,” said Gardenour, who cast the only vote in opposition. Roger Whaley abstained because his wife is the Floyd Central principal.