Bay District School Board members will be in for a pay cut if a new budget cutting proposal now before the Florida legislature becomes law.

The state senate is considering a budget measure that would save the state 1.5 million dollars a year by capping school board members salary at $29,000 a year. That's the same salary the lawmakers earn.

This would mean a pay cut of more than $3,000 a year for Bay District School Board members, who are currently paid an annual salary of $32,304. It had been higher, at a $33,062, but the board voted itself a pay cut earlier.

School board members in small counties would not be impacted because they earn less than $29,000. The only other county in our viewing area that would see a reduction in pay would be Okaloosa (Ft. Walton Beach/Crestview), where the board members would lose about $5,000 annually.

One school official we talked with pointed out that, for the second straight year, only school officials, and no other constitutional officers are being targeted for pay cuts by the state. Last year, the legislature reduced the School Superintendents salaries.