, according to Superintendent Bill Kendall.
Under scrutiny for, Kendall stated that district administrators will not see a raise in the current school year.
“It was just a given that we were going to take a freeze,” he said. “That was decided in February, prior to the [teacher's union] negotiations. That was really never even a topic of discussion, it was more of just an understanding.”
Kendall continued that while he is under a five-year contract with the district through 2017, the rest of the administration is on annual contracts. Such contracts are written to allow for administrators to apply for tenure—something he cannot do unless he was rehired by the district as a teacher.
Administrator salaries range from $68,000 to $172,000—not counting Kendall—which represented an outlay of $5.8 million for the district in 2011–12, about 7 percent of the district's overall budget for the year. Kendall said that current contracts reflect those numbers. The new contracts will be available for public viewing on Oct. 1, via the District 228 website.
As for Kendall, who received a $199,969 salary for the 2011–12 school year, he said that his compensation is based on his experience and his duties overseeing the district as a whole, and shouldn't be compared to that of teachers or other administrators.
“The amount of responsibility is different,” he said. “As a superintendent, you're responsible for four high schools, 5,000 students, close to 500 staff and over an $100,000,000 budget that's ultimately the responsibility of our board. So, I'm not trying to justify my salary, it is what it is and people are aware of it, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that.”
As for the public perception that administration and the district is unwisely spending money, Kendall said he wasn't sure where that idea came from, but that it wasn't true.
“There's no doubt about it, these are difficult financial times,” he said. “But I'm absolutely proud of our teachers, proud of the work they're doing. What I would strongly suggest is people do is make an appointment.
“Come in and see our schools in action, see what's going on in there before you judge it. There's good things going on in all our schools and our administration team is ready to answer those questions, to get people into our schools and see what's going on.”
Want more District 228 news? There's more where this came from.
Throughout this article are various links to items that could help to better understand much of what Mr. Kendall said. For example: http://bhsd228.schoolwires.net/cms/lib6/IL01001099/Centricity/Domain/27/AdminSalBen4Web1112.pdf. That link goes directly to the D228 Administration pay chart for the 2011-12 school year, which Mr. Kendall said was representative of what the new contract will be for the 2012-13 school year due to the pay freeze administration is taking. The chart also includes the cost of health insurance, sick and vacation days, bonuses (of which, there are none) and more, for every administrator in the district. And specifically about Mr. Kendall: He did not receive a raise with this contract. His salary is staying exactly the same as in 2011-12. (Continued below)
If you have questions specifically about certain administrators, I have found the district to be more than willing to meet with and discuss these issues. Mr. Kendall himself, in the article, even invites visiting the schools and I'm sure he would welcome an open dialogue with you or any other taxpayers should you, or others, choose to make an appointment to speak with him. I hope this helps and again assure you, we at Patch are doing our best to keep you and all of our readers informed on the stories that matter most to you. Thanks for reading and commenting. - Jeff Graveline
It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business. - Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/1.
- Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1.
TP
Jeff I appreciate the link to the The Board of Education Bremen Community High School District 228 Cook County, Illinois and The Bremen District 228 Joint Faculty Association all the others I've seen. I think it's only fair that you now post Dr. William Kendall's agreement along with the rest of the administrations contract. Failure to do so, simply would not be fair reporting. TP