Pages

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Fox C-6 Superintendent Salary

How does our superintendent's salary hold up to the other school districts in the area?  It appears that our school board has done an excellent job of providing our superintendent with one of the top salaries in the state.  I am not sure what the meteoric rise in salary has been based on.  A 65.39% pay increase in just 7 years is very impressive.  But, then it has been reported by ShowMeInstitute.org and KMOV that superintendent salaries in the state of Missouri have been rising despite a recession and our school board seems to have been helping to contribute to this problem. The report from the Show-Me Institute reported in July 2010 that even during a recession the average superintendent salary was increasing.

So, how has our superintendent's salary done since she became superintendent?  The following data was collected from data that what was reported to MO DESE by the school district and was provided to the Show-Me Institute from a Sunshine Law request and is available from the Show-Me Daily Superintendent Contracts Report.

2006 - $137,589
2007 - $152,068
2008 - $164,428
2009 - $192,586
2010 - $207,393

The following salary information was obtained from a KMOV news story copy of the May 23, 2010 contract for our superintendent. This appeared after the April 2010 news story on KSDK that reported that the Administrators in Fox School District forfeited their own pay raises.  I find it interesting that our superintendent stated that she was giving up her pay raise after she felt uncomfortable that the 47 administrators decided on their own to give up their raises.  You must watch the KDSK video news story to appreciate the excitement the administrators made in giving up their pay raises.  It appears that the forfeiting of our superintendent's pay raise would have occurred  during the 2012-2013 school year according to her May 23, 2010 contract.

2011 - $215,276
2012 - $221,643
2013 - $221,643

It seems odd that giving up a pay raise would still result in a higher salary for the 2013 school year when her May 23, 2010 contract showed a lower amount for 2013. Then, there was the recent announcement of our superintendent's pay for the 2012-2013 school year in The Leader which was reported would be $228,000.

From The Leader Newspaper:
2012 - $228,000

UPDATE: I finally received a copy of the 2012-2013 - 2014-2015 Superintendent Salary Schedule at 4:12PM on Monday August 6, 2012. My request for this data was made at 8:10AM on Wednesday August 1, 2012.  The school district certainly didn't want this information to get out into the community prior to the August 7, 2012 Bond Issue Vote.  Once you see the Salary Amounts you will understand why.


2013 - $238,785
2014 - $245,588
2015 - $252,391

It is important to note that the 2012 - 2015 Superintendent Salary Schedule includes an automatic 5% increase in the multiplier for each year of service in the district. To calculate the Superintendent's Base Pay Amount, the top teacher pay is multiplied by the multiplier value which becomes the base pay.  So, each year as the teacher's pay increases, so does the administrator's pay.

So, I have to ask the question:
When did our Superintendent forfeit her pay raise?

I suggest that you contact your Fox C-6 School Board Members and ask them to provide you with the documentation that shows when the superintendent forfeited her pay raise.  According to the data collected from MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and her May 23, 2010 contract and what was reported in The Leader newspaper recently, it does not appear that there was any pay raise forfeited.

Here is the April 10, 2010 news story on KSDK that reported that the Administrators in Fox School District forfeited their own pay raises for the teachers.  Did this pay raise forfeiture really occur for our superintendent or was it simply a nice story to provide to the public to gain public support for the district and hide other issues going on within the district?

The June 30, 2012 school board meeting information packet had a copy of the 2012-2013 school year Administrators Salary Schedule.  However, the Administrator Salary Schedule DID NOT contain a salary schedule for our superintendent.  I requested a copy of the Superintendent Salary Schedule but did not receive a copy of it right away but did receive other information since making that request.

Administrator Pay Based on Teachers Pay Scale
The pay schedule for administrators is based on the teachers pay scale.  So, anytime the administrators and school board approve a pay raise for the teachers, the administrators are also assured a pay raise. The multiplier for the Administrators Salary Schedule is 1.5 times the highest teacher pay with a doctorate degree which for the 2012-2013 school year is around $97,706 dollars making the Administrators Base Pay Amount at: $136,060.

The salary schedule is based on the Pay Grade and Year Index values where Grade levels are 1 through 5 as follows:

1 = Assistant Elementary or Assistant Middle School Principal
2 = Assistant High School Principal
3 = Elementary or Middle School Principal
4 = High School Principal
5 = Assistant Superintendent

The multipliers range from 0.540 for first year elementary and middle school principals to 1.200 for 12 year assistant superintendents.  There are also Education Factor multipliers that are part of the Salary Calculation where the following Education Factors are:

Masters + 15   = 0.005
Specialist         = 0.010
Specialist + 15 = 0.015
Specialist + 30 = 0.020
Doctorate        = 0.025

The Salary Calculation is computed as:  (GYI + EF) * BASE = Salary.

The example given on the schedule was:  (0.820 + 0.010) * 136,060 = $112,930.

The Highest Paid Assistant Superintendent would be calculated as:

(1.200 + 0.025) * 136,060 = $166,674