The incoming leader of the Clark County School District won’t be paid any less than $320,000 per year.

The School Board of Trustees voted 5-2 Thursday morning to set that amount as the base salary for the new superintendent. It’s about 14 percent higher than the existing annual salary for Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, who makes roughly $280,000, not including benefits.

“We’re not trying to be the highest, but we’re not trying to be the cheapest either,” said Gary Ray, chairman of Ray and Associates, the Iowa-based search firm hired by the district.

Trustees engaged in a lengthy discussion about the salary, weighing the pros and cons of shelling out more money for the man or woman charged with leading the nation’s fifth-largest school district. Trustees Chris Garvey and Kevin Child cast the opposing votes, arguing that their peers were putting the “cart before the horse” by deciding a salary without identifying where they’d get the money.

Jason Goudie, the district’s chief financial officer, said the new superintendent’s expected salary could be factored into the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. The district is in the beginning stages of formulating its new budget.

Garvey and Child wanted a more concrete answer for how money would be shifted. Child suggested shrinking the size of the superintendent’s office to make up for a larger salary. Skorkowsky’s office consists of an executive manager, special assistant to the board of superintendent and four administrative secretaries.

Other board members bristled at the notion, saying the district isn’t “top heavy” relative to its size. Some also feared that drastically changing the makeup of the new superintendent’s office could send the wrong message to the candidates they’re trying to recruit.

“I want to make sure we get the best people to apply for this,” Trustee Lola Brooks said. “We have the ability to do that.”

Ray had urged the board to offer a competitive base salary to attract the best pool of candidates. His search firm just helped Omaha Public Schools find its new superintendent, who will be making roughly $300,000 per year in a considerably smaller school district.

School districts in Seattle and Los Angeles are also searching for new superintendents right now.

The search firm intends to start advertising the job position immediately, with a March 15 deadline for applications. Candidate interviews will occur in mid-April.

This has been updated to correct the calculation for the salary increase.