West Aurora School District 129 Superintendent Jeffrey Craig and other administrators will be getting 2.5 percent salary increases.
The West Aurora School Board recently approved the coming year’s goals and a 2.5 percent salary increase as part of Craig’s one-year contract extension.
The extension is through the 2020-2021 school year. Craig’s salary last year was $208,449, when he received a 3.5 percent increase in a four-year contract that was to expire in 2020.
The School Board also approved a 2.5 percent salary increase for 83 administrators across the district, which covers salaries of curriculum coordinators, education directors, principals and assistant principals.
The School Board originally approved the one-year contract extension last August with no new pay hike for Craig. Administrators were told their salaries would be frozen, as well.
“Salaries for administrators were frozen at the beginning of the year as we were unsure about state funding and had not resolved all bargaining,” said Tony Martinez, director of Community Affairs at West Aurora School District 129, said in an email.
Martinez said the district has since finished existing talks with of its unions. At the end of this school year, the transportation contract will expire. Those negotiations will occur later this school year, he said.
“After negotiations were completed with all of our bargaining units and the state funding picture became clearer, the Board revisited the potential for increases,” he said.
Martinez said further analysis of the district’s property values was also figured into the Board’s decision to authorize salary increases for the administrative team.
“After the budget was approved, we received notice that our new property growth was higher than forecasted, and that will result in additional revenue not included in the original budget. Additionally, our health insurance plan has performed better than expected resulting in a reduction to the budget for that expense. The additional revenue and savings created more than enough room for the administrator raises. The increases align with the Board’s goal to hire and retain quality staff,” Martinez said.
Martinez said the administrative salaries are up approximately $181,675 or 1.94 percent higher over last year. He said those increases will be offset by an increase of $300,000 in state transportation revenue and an increase of at least $300,000 in property tax revenue due to higher-than-anticipated new construction, as well as $200,000 in savings from the district’s health insurance renewal. He said salaries for administrators are reviewed each year.
“Salary increases for administrators are done on an annual basis and based on performance as an acknowledgment of the previous year’s effort,” he said.
Craig began as superintendent July 1, 2014, with a base salary of $190,000 in a three-year contract.
Craig’s one-year extension authorized in August did not include a set of goals. Martinez at the time said the goals for his contract were in the process of being defined. Craig’s contract lays out goals for 2017-2018. According to information provided, the goals address student achievement, relationship building, finance and strategies to build “positive engagement.”
“Providing resources and opportunities for our students to achieve at the highest level is our primary task as educators,” Craig said in an email.
The other goal encourages the continuation of building relationships with the School Board, members of the community and elected officials through a series of efforts that include regular school visits, an annual “Listening Tour” that invites people to discuss various school-related topics and the superintendent’s annual State of the District address that kicks-off the new school year.
In finance, the goal is to have fund balance with 60 days cash on hand, due in part to revenue and ongoing monitoring for efficiency and expense control.
In the area of positive engagement, there are goals based in part from the “Energy Bus” training program.
“Our current world, national and state social climate seem to be in some turmoil and creating an abundance of negativity. I believe it is important for our students, staff and community to have positivity in their lives. So, we chose to provide that through our Energy Bus theme and through our common language of One District, Once Goal, Students First,” he said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
