Hall County schools Superintendent Will Schofield received a glowing performance evaluation from the Hall County school board but declined the 5 percent raise to which he is entitled.

Hall County school board Chairman Richard Higgins said in an e-mail the board reviewed Schofield during the Georgia School Board Association conference in Savannah this past weekend.

Higgins said Schofield met an "overwhelming majority" of the metrics in his evaluation as outlined by the Hall County School District Balanced Scorecard of Teaching and Learning.

"Increased rigor in our academic programming, improved student performance, the evolution of programs of choice and budgetary acumen were among the areas we singled out as his strengths," Higgins said.

"We believe our superintendent has done an exceptional job throughout the budget process in these difficult economic times," he said. "As an example, we have crafted a fiscal year 2010 budget that is roughly $13 million less than our current figure."

Higgins said the board asked Schofield to place additional focus on some specific areas of facility maintenance and promoting even greater levels of the "intentional" development of character through the system’s extracurricular offerings.

According to Schofield’s contract, he is entitled to a 5 percent performance bonus, Higgins said.

Schofield said in an e-mail he declined that bonus. "After considering the economic times and challenges we are facing, I will not be accepting a bonus," he said.

Higgins said this decline marks the third time Schofield has foregone increased pay due to the economy.

Last year, Schofield turned down a similar 5 percent bonus and this year the superintendent recommended he take a 3.4 percent pay cut to his salary, Higgins said.

The board will OK the evaluation at an upcoming meeting. Pending board approval, Schofield’s evaluation will be posted on the system’s Web site, www.hallco.org.