SUPERINTENDENT'S SALARY SHOULD BE BASED ON RESULTS
New Albany Floyd County School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Bruce Hibbard is in the middle of his second year of a three year contract. This week some members of the school board considered giving him a large raise. Some school board members believe that he has made some tough decisions and has done a good job as superintendent. One board members says he was gotten on the “cheap” and should be rewarded before he leaves for higher pay.
Mr. Hibbard's salary is $142,000 this year. The average salary for a superintendent in the state of Indiana is $115,000. The NA-FC School Corp. is said to be the 15th largest school system in the state. Dr. Hibbard's salary is ranked 32th out of 296 school systems. The $24,000 raise the the school board was proposing would have reportedly put him at the average of school systems with above 10,000 students.
Dr. Hibbard and the school system board did not have that great of a year last year...
- Four elementary schools closed
- 5th graders moved to middle school
- elementary school athletics eliminated
- Music programs cut
- No Field Trips
- support staff benefits cut
Dr. Hibbard began the school board meeting on Monday night by announcing that he would not accept a pay raise if it was offered... This didn’t stop some members from insisting that he deserved a raise. ..
School board member, Neal Smith, who supported the salary increase said “…I will continue to try to find some money, somewhere, to try to reward this person for making tough decisions…”. How hard did Mr. Smith look for more money to keep our schools open? Is he still looking to looking for extra cash to return music and elementary athletics to our schools?
Where did this decision to give Dr. Hibbard a raise come from?
You have to wonder if one of the reasons that some believe that a raise is in order has anything to do with the pay of the leader in neighboring Greater Clark Schools. Their Superintendent, Stephen Daeschner, was hired last year with a total salary of $225,000 paid partly by private donations. Mr. Daeschner is now the highest paid school superintendent in Indiana, but has many years of experience having led Jefferson County (Kentucky) Schools for many years. This is Dr. Hibbard’s first job as superintendent.
I don't have a problem with paying a school administrator a reasonable salary. I just think it should be made based on measurable results as opposed to just "doing a good job" or "making tough decisions"
I could understand an increase in pay if there was a track record of higher ISTEP test scores. If there was a significant improvement in the number of students dropping out of school, I could understand some kind of reward. If our more of our kids were going on to college after graduation I would approve of a raise. There is no way to track the progress of how Dr. Hibbard decisions have improved our schools after just one year on the job.
Mr. Hibbard should honor his current contract and when it is over there should be an evaluation based on goals and criteria that the school board determines. He does not deserve a raise for basically doing the job he was hired to do.
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