A 25 percent pay hike for a school superintendent position would usually raise some eyebrows. Not so at the Victoria Independent School District, where Robert Jaklich is taking the new slot at $237,000, a bit more than the $191,000 base salary his predecessor was making.

It’s worth noting that the pay is all-inclusive, the Victoria Advocate reports, meaning it includes perks such as car and phone allowances.

But even more noteworthy is the news that Victoria’s school district is in better shape than most thanks to increased property values and tax revenue. How do they avoid being sucked into the legal vortex that seems to be part of the state’s larger districts, which cry like shrill children at news of decreased state funding? Their crying includes filing lawsuits, of course, spending more public money on legal fees.

The 14,000-student Victoria district has managed to keep its property tax rate of $1.3226 per $100 of valuation the same for a couple of years.

The district isn’t without angry parents – is any district? A story last year about a dress code flap at one of the district’s high schools drew angry comments about the district itself, particularly the “academically unacceptable” ratings given the district’s two high schools.

No layoffs, increased revenues and little whining about the state cutbacks. It’s unlikely the district is perfect, but it isn’t suing anyone, and it hasn’t hired a superintendent with a fairly obvious trail of woe.

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Contact Steve Miller at 832-303-9420 or stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org.

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Photo of school supplies by flickr user MyTudut, used via a Creative Commons license.