
The Children’s Trust of Alachua County (CTAC) voted to accept Executive Director Marsha Kiner’s evaluation and give her the same 6% pay increase as all other staff during a regular meeting on Monday.
Kiner, who grew up in East Gainesville, has served as the CTAC executive director since 2022.
CTAC Chair Ken Cornell explained how the assessment process worked, noting that board members received an evaluation survey. He added that the board also asked for a “360 review,” where CTAC staff also had the chance to assess Kiner’s performance.
“…What I had an opportunity to do was review all of you all’s feedback [and] review all the feedback from the staff,” Cornell said. “And then Marsha and I had a series of actually three conversations.”
Cornell said he felt the feedback from the evaluation “was very valuable.”
“I will tell you that in our one-on-one conversations, Marsha is very self-reflective from both the folks that she reports to and the folks that report to her about how she can not only improve her personal skill set but also how she can improve how people perceive her skill set, and then what things she can do systemically so that if there is no Marsha, the next person can step into her role…”
Cornell opened the floor for discussion on Kiner’s performance. Each one of the board members present had positive feedback to give, with a majority touting her leadership skills and positive energy in handling situations.
Before he opened the floor for comments from board members, Cornell suggested that – in addition to the 6% pay increase given to all CTAC staff – the board give Kiner an added 2% raise.
Board Member Lee Pinkoson said he felt a 6% pay increase was “generous.”
“I think the rate of inflation now is between 2 and 3%, and the issue that potentially could happen is there could be some friction, because everybody here works their derriere off,” he said while addressing Kiner. “I think 6% is generous, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you probably don’t deserve [it]…But everybody deserves it, because you all [CTAC staff] do a tremendous job.”
Board Member Tina Certain shared a similar perspective as Pinkoson.
“I believe in compensating employees fairly. I believe in the generosity of benefits,” she said. “But I also walk the fine line of us doing this on the public’s dime, right?”
Cornell explained his reasoning for recommending the additional 2% increase, on top of the standard 6% raise.
“She [Kiner] and her team have done a lot. And so I just thought it was more of a want to recognize that,” Cornell said. “I want your team to recognize that we recognize that. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s more symbolic. And so that was why I brought that up.”
A motion was made by Certain to receive Kiner’s evaluation and accept the same 6% pay increase that staff received.
The motion ended up being divided into two parts, with the board first voting unanimously to accept the evaluation. Members Kamela Patton and Nancy Hardt were absent from the meeting.
The board then voted 6-1 to approve the same 6% raise, with Cornell dissenting.
Town halls scheduled for feedback on literacy
There will be two upcoming town hall meetings for community members to share their input on literacy in Alachua County.
The first meeting is slated for 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Eastside High School Auditorium (1201 SE 43rd St., Gainesville).
The second town hall will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, in the Santa Fe High School Auditorium (16213 NW U.S. Highway 441, Alachua).
The CTAC is currently in the midst of developing a comprehensive literacy plan to improve literacy in the county.
Those who cannot attend the two town halls but would like to offer feedback can do so by emailing alachuacountyreads@gmail.com.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.