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The San Ramon Valley school board is set to talk about restructuring the district’s Educational Services Department on Tuesday night.
The first part of the discussion will begin during a 4 1/2-hour-long closed session immediately preceding the board’s open-session meeting, during which board members will consider several public employee appointments, among them the new position of deputy superintendent of educational services — a job created as part of the department’s reorganization.
“The restructuring of the Educational Services Department is expected to save approximately $500,000 in General Fund expenditures,” assistant superintendent of human resources Keith Rogenski wrote in a staff report. “Accordingly, there are no anticipated increased costs to the General Fund in creating and staffing this (deputy) position.”
Toni Taylor, currently assistant superintendent of educational services, is expected to be offered the new deputy superintendent role.
According to the position description drawn up by SRVUSD, the role would “serve as the primary instructional leader for the district” and would “provide leadership, vision, and strategic direction for the district’s curriculum, instruction, assessment, special education, student services, and school improvement initiatives,” among other responsibilities. The position-holder would serve as the district’s chief administrator “at the request or in the absence of the superintendent.”
As deputy superintendent, Taylor would earn a little under $245,000 per year, eligible for a 5% longevity increase in 2019 and every three years subsequently for up to three increments, pending satisfactory performance reviews.
In closed session, the school board will also talk about other new hires in the Educational Services Department: executive director of elementary education, executive director of secondary education and director of educational services.
Other public employee appointments to be discussed during closed session include chief business officer, director of technology and assistant principals at California High, San Ramon Valley High and Stone Valley Middle schools.
And other closed-session agenda items include the continuation of the performance evaluation for superintendent Rick Schmitt, a student expulsion case, a conference with Rogenski regarding bargaining talks with the San Ramon Valley Education Association and an unspecified complaint against public employees under administrative regulation.
In other business
* During open session, board members will consider approving contract addenda for assistant superintendents, the superintendent and the chief business officer to give them a 3% salary bump — the same percentage pay raises given to other employees for the 2016-17 school year.
The addendum for Gary Black, assistant superintendent of facilities and operations, would extend his employment contract through June 2019 and increase his annual salary by 3% to about $234,000, retroactive to July 1, 2016.
Rogenski would also see his contract extended through June 2019 and have his salary retroactively increased by 3% effective July 1, 2016, which in his case comes out to about $212,000.
After a 3% increase, also retroactive to July 1, 2016, Taylor’s annual salary for 2016-17 would come out to almost $223,000, as would the annual salary for chief business officer Scott Anderson. Anderson will be leaving SRVUSD at the end of this month, as he took a position as deputy superintendent of business services for the San Joaquin County Office of Education.
The addendum for Schmitt would extend his contract through June 2020, with a salary increase of 3% to $319,000 overall, retroactive to July 1, 2016.
The board will also be asked to approve a 3% base annual salary increase effective July 1, 2016 for all management and confidential employees. The financial impact of this increase would be about $502,000.
* The board will consider adopting the 2017-18 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the 2017-18 budget.
* Board members will consider approving numerous consent items, including bid awards for a San Ramon Valley High classroom building project, certificated and classified personnel changes and bids to provide produce for the district as part of a USDA pilot project.
Both the closed-session and open-session meetings will be held at the district administrative complex, 699 Old Orchard Drive in Danville. The closed session is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
Raises? I am dumbfounded!
Unbelievable that the Superintendent makes over $300,000 a year just in salary alone, and how many other “administrators” make over $200,000 a year. No wonder the district is always crying “we are broke” and demanding additional parcel taxes from us residents. No Mas! Vote No on parcel taxes.
why is the new superintendent getting a retro raise of 3% to the day HE was hired? He agreed to the offer at the time, no sure why he’s in line for a retro raise? Must be nice, sheesh.
Totally agree, the Supt should not be seeing a retro, nor should any of the other district administrators. Word on the street, no money for teachers but bump up the highest paid people. This makes no sense, but not much in SRVUSD this year has.
As a former employee of SRVUSD, I find it nauseating that most service employees who work FAR HARDER than any administrator does on a daily basis, make approximately 10% of what an administrator is salaried.
They also don’t receive medical or dental or paid time off.
Classified employees are practically indentured servants.
And have their wages decided upon by these folks who are completely out of touch with the reality of the average employee in their district.
Nobody making over $100,000K in the district should have the right to decide to vote against raises and benefits for the people that are the glue holding the district together.
We clean your bathrooms, your classrooms and your children; it behooves you to keep the people serving children directly well paid. Working in education should not require a vow of poverty.
And yet, the district administration is ALWAYS CRYING POOR to line their own fat pockets and never to pay their employees fair, LIVING wages.
#reasonsileftmycareerinspecialeducation
At GAIL:
Gail,
I understand your frustration about being paid a low wage. But, please check facts before posting. On the SRVUSD.net website, the classified contract is available and is public knowledge. Employees do receive 12 vacation days per year and can get up to 20 vacation days once they have worked for ten years. Also, full time employees do receive FULL medical coverage, as long as they choose Kaiser.
I agree, administrators do make a lot. But, they have earned their position by obtaining multiple degrees above a bachelors degree.
FancyMae,
The contract sounds well and good on the district website, but what that contract doesn’t show you is how many classified employees are only employed at part-time status so that they don’t get the benefits coverage listed there. Paraprofessionals are vital to the success of special education students at our schools, but very few are employed at what is considered full-time. This means that they work about 29 hours a week and get paid little for the hard work they actually do. That is why it is so hard for schools to find and hire paraprofessionals in our district.
District Teacher,
Your post is correct. You are the master of the obvious.
FancyMae,
I guess I see zero point to your initial post then other than to justify the superintendent’s raise? Or were you just jumping on the chance to prove Gail wrong? (Even though she isn’t really)
I’m going to limit myself to just two comments:
1. There’s zero justification for retroactive raises. Since these employees didn’t quit during the past year, their pay during that past period was clearly adequate.
2. I also had to laugh (or was it cry?) over the “longevity” bonuses (or were these actual pay increases?), granted every three years for “sticking around”…. Actually, the need for these is due to the fact that teachers and administrators have pension portability, meaning that they can hop around from district to district, and keep their pension “years of service” intact. In the private sector, this doesn’t happen, so the potential loss of accrued pension benefits serves as a motivator to stay at the same company. The teacher and administrator pension plan makes it easy to job-hop, at least within the state, in turn leading to the need for longevity bonuses. A great deal, except for the taxpayer!
certainly a new superintendent does not deserve a retro increase to the day he began. He accepted the offer as-is and his job did NOT change during the year.
Retro pay is usually (for union workers) when one contract expires and a new one begins and the new contract wasn’t signed when the first contract expired. Retro to the day old contract expired.
As to longevity raises. Aren’t those to keep teachers where they are since, you know, there is a huge shortage of said teachers in California? Seems fair. Cheaper to give raise, then to recruit, no?