After multiple upward adjustments to teacher pay over the past few years, a north Alabama lawmaker is hoping to do the same for school principals.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said school leaders, teachers and parents have asked him to help better support principals and create a strong pipeline for building-level administrators.

“They’re managing people, managing classes, managing the culture of the school,” Orr said.

No specific legislation or budget mechanism has been proposed for the 2023 session.

“The goal would be to raise the bar of the management and the culture in our schools which will ultimately benefit children and improve their educational environment,” Orr said. “And that’s certainly what we would like to see.”

Alabama has improved teacher pay in recent years and has $2.7 billion in additional funding to allocate — and potentially invest in principals.

Orr said he is considering a proposal to give principals a stipend or bump in pay if they complete additional training or professional development.

“If they receive the initial training and recurring continuing professional development,” Orr explained, “they’ll be eligible for the enhancement on their salary. So the salary increase would be tied to receiving the [required] professional development.”

There are about 1,440 school-level principals in the state.

An AL.com analysis of principal salaries during the 2021-22 school year showed a wide range statewide, from $61,153 in Hale County to $158,300 in Hoover City Schools.

The average public school principal salary statewide was $97,635 for the same time period. That includes county, city and charter schools at all grade levels.

That’s an increase of 11% from five years ago, when the average Alabama principal’s salary was $88,200.

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By comparison, the average Alabama teacher’s salary has increased 6% in the same time period, from $49,835 to $53,903.

That average varies widely by district, subject and experience. Some districts are paying $95,000 for highly experienced and educated teachers. In some districts, a teacher’s pay, when factoring in stipends and bonuses, could theoretically be higher than a local principal’s.

Orr projects a first-year cost to improve principal pay to be around $20 million, but that could grow as the program is fully implemented over the next few years.

Vic Wilson, who leads the statewide professional organization for school leaders, has worked with Orr on the issue. He said strengthening the pipeline and increasing principal pay is important as the role of the school principal continues to change over time and the duties during the school day continue to expand.

There are 1,440 school-level principals, Wilson said, and the needs of each principal and their school can differ greatly.

People often say a principal is either a building manager or an instructional leader, Wilson said.

“It’s not either-or. It’s both-and.”

They also typically have human resources, community engagement and finance responsibilities.

The legislative session starts March 7.