Tallahassee State College’s Board of Trustees has approved a 4% salary increase for faculty and staff, which also led to a unanimous vote for President Jim Murdaugh to get the same pay raise.
“Within the college, people know that every single year I start off our budget conversation with ‘Can we afford to do a raise this year?’ ” Murdaugh said during a TSC trustees meeting Monday on campus. “It is an annual conversation.”
As Murdaugh has mentioned in the past time and time again, he has only agreed to get a pay raise if faculty and staff are able to get one – which is why board chair Karen Moore recommended giving Murdaugh a similar increase.
“We have tried many times to give him (a raise), and he has always stood firm in solidarity with staff, faculty and his leadership team,” said Moore, who was recently elected chair of the board, with trustee Eugene Lamb as vice chair.
The pay increase will bring Murdaugh’s annual salary up from $325,149 to about $338,155.
Tuesday’s approved salary increase comes after TSC’s $77.4 million operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year was approved by the board in a June meeting. Of the entire spending plan, $58.4 million goes toward personnel, $17 million for operations and $2 million for capital outlay.