ISD 166 school board members met Wednesday morning, December 14, to take a tour of the school facilities and then sat down to discuss Superintendent Beth Schwarz’s upcoming contract.
While the board recently voiced support for Schwarz with a 4-1 vote of approval, the Cook County Education Association passed a vote showing a lack of support for Schwarz who is in the third year of a three-year contract.
Prior to the Wednesday meeting, Board Members Deb White and Jeanne Anderson sat down with Schwarz in what they described as a casual meeting and asked Schwarz what she was looking for from the board. At that meeting, Schwarz indicated she didn’t need a three-year contract but strongly desired a two-year contract.
She also said she could live with a two percent reduction in salary as long as it was reflected in fewer work days, or duty days, as they are defined in the contract.
“The three years that I have been here I have beenvoluntarilytakinga3percentreduction,” Schwarz told the board, adding that a further cut of 2 percent seemed to be fair, but any more wouldn’t feel right to her.
When asked to explain why she wanted a two-year contract Schwarz replied, “My son is a sophomore and he has two years left until he graduates. A one-year contract would be very hard to accept because I need to know where I will be in the next two years for my son. It’s not fair to him to have to move in the last year of school. I also need to feel valued,” said Schwarz, who added that it’s taken her a long time as a professional to be able to come out and admit that.
Schwarz gave the school board two lists, one that contained the salaries of superintendents from school districts in the state and region that were similar in size to ISD 166 and the second was a list of principal salaries from many of the same districts. She noted that her salary was on the low end of the list and that some principals made more than she did.
In fact, Schwarz is paid the least of any superintendent when salaries are broken down by duty days. She is paid at the rate of $365 per day for 260 workdays, which figures out to $95,000 per year. The next lowest daily rate is $382 paid to the Wrenshall superintendent who is under contract for 228 days. The Wrenshall superintendent is paid $87,000 per year.
Board Member Terry Collins said the lists didn’t indicate whether or not the superintendents or principals had a PhD and it didn’t spell out a variety of other factors like whether or not these superintendents also had other duties assigned to them. Board Member Anderson added that the Ely school district superintendent just took on K-5 principal duties to go along with her normal duties.
That said, Collins also noted Schwarz’s salary was on the low end but still within the parameters for a district of Cook County’s size. He also said he wanted the board to be aware of the district’s financial situation.
“It’s not just state funds we have been losing. We are projected to lose more enrollment. We know in the next five years we are expected to lose a half million dollars due to a loss in enrollment. I’m uncomfortable talking about a two-year contract with a decline in funding. That means a decline in services. We must be aware of that in contract negotiations,” he said.
Board Member Leonard Sobanja said Schwarz had done all the board had asked her do but added that he was very uneasy about her relationship with the teachers. He said that if the board was going to approve a two-year contract, Schwarz must show improvement in getting along with the staff.
School Board Chair Mary Sanders said she supports Schwarz and said, “We have to assert to the staff that we support our superintendent.”
“I have faith in the staff,” said Sobanja, adding, “They have an obligation to work with the superintendent and I believe they will work with Beth.”
Schwarz replied, “My relationship with the staff must improve. It has to improve. If I try A, B, C, D and it doesn’t improve, I’ll have to do something else.”
Sobanja also said the current contract doesn’t spell out what is expected of Schwarz. Board Member White agreed with him and said that whoever had written up the contract had done a poor job.
“As a board we have to end the ambiguity in Beth’s contract. Right now there is some overlap. We need to be able to say ‘these are your duties’ and that’s what they are,” said White.
But Collins said the contract was separate from Schwarz’s job description. “That is the duty of the Human Resource Director to work with Schwarz and the staff to come up with those details.”
The board agreed this issue needs further clarification and will address it in the near future but got back to the contract discussion.
Whitesuggestedofferinga5percent reduction in pay. Anderson agreed and Collins said it was worth looking at.
But Schwarz said, “A 5 percent reduction puts me well below the rate of anyone else in the area and maybe lower than anyone else in the state. In fact, it might put me below some of the staff.”
After some discussion the board came up with a one-year contract offer that would reduce Schwarz’s duty days from 260 to 240 and drop her salary from $95,000 to $92,700. Thiswouldbea2½percentreductioninpay.
Under this plan her daily rate would rise from $365 per day to $395 per day. The board also asked that Schwarz take time off in the summer, not during the school year.
As far as offering a second year, White explained that no one else was offered a twoyear contract so it wouldn’t be right for the board to offer that to Schwarz.
“Because of the volatility in state funding maybe next year we can do more for you. If we had offered a two-year contract we would have to assume the worst and couldn’t be generous next year if things change for the better,” said White.
“This contract puts you in the low threshold of the chart but addresses the issue of respect,” said Collins.
“In my heart I believe the board did its best and I feel supported,” said Schwarz, adding that this has been a stressful time for her.
The board will tender her a formal offer at its January meeting.
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