Listfolk:

I am a member of the Board of Directors for our local museum here in the
Central Coast area of California.  Our museum is fairly small, and is
located in a town of about 45,000.  Current membership (drawn mainly from
the local community) is about 400 to 450.  Currently, there is really
only one, full-time professional on the museum "staff".  Except for a
little bookkeeping help, and a small number of dedicated docents and
volunteers, the Museum Director/Curator does it all.

The Board of Directors recognizes that we have a number of problems to
fix, not the least of which is adding a great many new members, hiring a
second staff person [not many years ago, the museum had a staff of
three], and paying the current Director/Curator a reasonable wage.

My plea to all you experienced museum people:
What is an acceptable salary for an active, vibrant, community-oriented
small town museum that is currently staffed by only one professional?
 The current wage for this person is about $32,500; when insurance and
other [minor] benefits are considered, the current wage would work out to
about $35,000.

Admittedly, there are many facts and things to consider.  But, in
general, would you think that a paid salary of $37,500 [considering
benefits, total would be $40,000] would be equitable for this job?  If
not, what salary range should this job be?

If this is a topic for general list discussion, then please post to the
list.  If you would rather post to me privately, please do so.  What I
hope to get from you all is a number of informed responses, speaking from
personal experience, that I can print out, summarize, and carry to my
next board meeting.  Your input will help us determine what a fair raise
would be for our Director/Curator.

In your posts, please make certain that your name, title, location
[museum, department, etc.], phone numbers, etc., are listed.  I would
especially be interested in getting comparative salary information from
others at "one-person museums", museums here on the west coast
[especially California], and museums in rural communities under 100,000
persons.

thank you

jim

James Carucci, Ph.D.
Historic Structures Specialist/Environmental Planner
30 CES/CEVPP  -  Program Planning
806 13th Street, Suite 116
Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA  93437-5242

Voice (805) 734-8232  ext. 6-2860
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