December 11, 2008
Katonah school administrators take pay freeze
Administrators in the Katonah-Lewisboro school district have agreed to forgo pay raises in the coming school year.
Tonight the Board of Education is expected to approve a revision of its existing contract with the Katonah-Lewisboro Association of Administrators & Supervisors. The move comes as many residents of the northern Westchester community have been affected by the Wall Street meltdown and a state audit criticized the district for being top-heavy with administrators.
As described on the district's web site, the pay freeze would affect administrator's salaries for one year and would "provide limited job protection for administrators in the 2009-2010 school year."
Schools Superintendent, Dr. Robert J. Roelle praised the Association for coming forward with the offer. "Leadership stands out during difficult times and through personal sacrifice" said Dr. Roelle.
Dr. Roelle noted that the administrators' salary freeze coupled with projected additional administrative cost reductions for the 2009-2010 school year will yield a projected administrative cost reduction of approximately $450,000. The administrative cost reduction for the current school year was $400,000, bringing the projected administrative cost reduction over two years to approximately $850,000.
In November, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued an audit saying Katonah-Lewisboro administrative costs were out-of-line when compared to comparable districts in Westchester County. Press release (here). Audit (here).
Katonah-Lewisboro spent $1,072 per student on administrative salaries while the other six districts on average spent $779 per student to pay for an average of 22.3 administrative positions. Auditors found the district had 28 administrative positions.
(Journal News story on audit, here).
So far, the union representing Katonah-Lewisboro teachers has not offered to freeze its salaries. Its contract is available on www.seethroughny.com. In the coming school year, starting pay for teachers with bachelor's degrees is $52,588 while starting pay for those with master's is $59,731. The pay grid tops out at $138,258 for teachers with master's degrees plus 90 credits. (The contract calls for a 3.5 percent pay increase over the current year, excluding step raises.)
Superintendent Roelle's contract also is posted on www.seethroughny.com. His base salary for the current school year is $265,00. He is retired superintendent of the Ossining school district.
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