The Indianapolis Star is running an article on Sunday (print-only) about school superintendent pay packages. Their job is to sell papers, so they're teasing the story with lines about superintendents having "CEO-like perks."
On the web site today the Star has an interesting chart showing base salaries of 44 metro-area superintendents (including Lebanon's), with links to benefits details and pdf files of the actual contracts. From time to time I hear people questioning how much our superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor is paid. This chart shows that his base salary is 24th on the list, and a look at benefits of a few other superintendents near his pay level shows that his benefits are in line with, or more modest than, those of his peers.
This week's headlines about K-12 funding in Indiana are grim, and the administration and board will be looking at some tough decisions in the next few months. The good news is that Lebanon has been very fiscally conservative, and is operating with a healthy cash balance and a decent Rainy Day fund. We're also fortunate to have pretty steady enrollment--corporations with strong growth or severe enrollment declines are hurting more than we are.
The administration and teachers union are currently negotiating a Master Contract for teachers in the district, and administrator contracts won't be signed until the Master Contract is settled. But earlier this year the board decided not to give any administrators raises for this year. Our administrators work so hard, and so well, and last year they led the district to Exemplary status. But this was the only sensible thing to do given the bleak economic situation. In absorbing the cuts that are coming, the board will work to spread the pain so that hopefully no one feels it too much.
Just seeking a clarification: You wrote in the blog that the board decided earlier this year not to give raises to the administration. Is the contract that Bob Taylor signed at $127,500 the same compensation he received last year?
ReplyDeleteNone of the administrators have actually signed contracts yet, George, and they won't until the Master Contract (for teachers) has been fully settled (this is standard operating procedure). But the board has already determined that when the admin contracts are signed, there will be no raises from the previous contract. So Dr. Taylor's base salary will continue at $127,799.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting!
Not sure if I answered your question. The superintendent's most recent contract is dated Aug. 11, 2008 and is effective July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010. This contract was negotiated just before my board term began, and it is an increase over the previous year's contract. Dr. Taylor will continue at this compensation level for the contract which will run July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification, Michele. The PDF on the Star's Web site has the contract signed this year and an addendum that the previous board adopted on June 30, 2008, that set the salary and benefits at their present levels.
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