Wake County School Superintendent Del Burns' focus on student learning earned him praise, a 4 percent pay increase and an additional year on his contract from the Wake County Board of Education Tuesday, according to a release from the Board.

Burns' contract gives him a 3 percent raise annually, and the board awarded an additional one percent based on his performance.

Burns' annual base salary, approved by the school board and effective Sept. 2, 2008 is $273,000. Other benefits provided total up to $39,790 for a total compensation package of $312,790.

"The school board is appreciative of Dr. Burns' leadership in aligning people and resources in seeking to reach our goal of helping all Wake County students graduate from high school on time and prepared for the future," said Rosa Gill, board chair, in the press release.

The board performance review comes after Burns has served two years as superintendent of the Wake County Public School System.

Board members praised Burns' work focusing attention on student results and his leadership in strengthening instruction through the curriculum management audit and learning teams for educators.

The school board and school administrators are working through the recommendations of an audit by nationally-recognized professional educators to strengthen support for classroom instruction. At schools, teachers have begun routinely meeting in learning teams to find the best ways to meet their students academic needs.

The Wake County Public School System is the largest school district in the state.