DuPage will pay regional school chief

DuPage County Regional Superintendent of Schools Darlene Ruscitti will continue to receive a paycheck as she and other regional superintendents mount a legal fight to have their salaries reinstated by the state.

County board members in DuPage this week agreed to pay a prorated share of Ruscitti’s $130,000 annual salary that will be retroactive to July 1 and continue through Nov. 30.

“I am grateful for the temporary solution to a very difficult situation,” Ruscitti said Wednesday.

She intends to repay the $42,500 to DuPage once the state’s share of her salary is restored. The county already is contributing $30,000 to Ruscitti’s annual pay.

Tuesday’s decision came days after the state’s 44 regional superintendents filed a lawsuit in Sangamon County circuit court arguing that Gov. Pat Quinn overstepped his authority when he used his veto power over the state budget to cut roughly $11 million to pay the superintendents and their assistants.

A Quinn spokeswoman said the governor wants the regional offices supported by local governments — not the state.

“He really feels if local districts want to have these positions, they should be paid out of local funds,” said Kelly Kraft, Quinn’s budget spokeswoman.

But Ruscitti says she doesn’t want DuPage school districts to lose some funding to help pay her salary. “If that was money that was to be taken away from the schools, I would have a problem with that,” she said.

If the lawsuit is unsuccessful, Ruscitti said she hopes state lawmakers will return to Springfield this fall and override Quinn’s veto.

Quinn also is looking ahead to the start of the fall veto session in October. Kraft said the governor’s office is trying to find a legislative sponsor to introduce a proposal to have regional offices funded with local tax dollars.

Meanwhile, there is talk of the state restoring some funding to the regional offices until a long-term solution is found. The superintendents, who are elected officials, haven’t been paid by the state since July 1.

“We are continuing to work with them to provide payment as quickly as possible until we can rectify the situation,” Kraft said.

In addition to cutting Ruscitti’s salary, the governor’s veto also eliminated $90,000 in funding for the DuPage regional office’s assistant superintendent. Ruscitti has been using money from other parts of her budget to cover that salary.

Despite the funding battle, Ruscitti said her office is committed to fulfilling its duties, which include approving the certification of teachers and offering training.

“I want to be here,” Ruscitti said. “I want to be at this office. I want to be part of the solutions and continuing to move this education system forward.”