Dist. 57 OKs administrative contracts, raises

The Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 school board has approved contracts for a number of district administrators, most of whom will receive a raise next fiscal year.

School board President Karen Nejdl said the board approved the raises because administrative salaries have been frozen for two years, and because board members didn’t want salaries to become a disadvantage for attracting and retaining quality administrators.

“We looked at how we compare to neighboring districts, salary-wise, and we often came in lower,” Nejdl said. “Given that the pay had been frozen for two years, we thought it was time to give the salaries a boost.”

All of the new contracts do away with separate annuities, which were payments made to specific savings accounts for the employees, and roll those funds into the base salaries.

The following administrators will receive raises next fiscal year, which begins July 1:

Ÿ Susan Woodrow, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, will be paid a base salary of $128,800. This year she earns $120,000 in salary and a $3,000 annuity.

Ÿ Kris Gritzmacher, Lions Park School principal, will earn $116,800. This year, she makes $108,792 plus a $2,000 annuity.

Ÿ Mary Kalogeropoulos, Westbrook School principal, will earn $97,500. This year, she makes $91,522 plus a $2,000 annuity.

Ÿ Randy Steen, assistant principal of Lincoln Middle School, will earn $95,000. This year, Steen makes $91,759 plus a $2,000 annuity.

Ÿ Reggie Ryan, director of technology, will earn $85,000. This year, Ryan makes $77,250 plus a $2,000 annuity.

The board also approved a contract for Dale Falk, assistant superintendent for finance and operations. His base salary will drop because the district is longer offering cash payouts in lieu of medical coverage. He will earn $131,000. This year, he’s making $141,348 plus a $2,477 annuity.

According to the contracts, the district will cover administrators’ contributions to the Teachers’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Health Insurances Security Fund. The district will also pay administrators’ health insurance premiums.

Superintendent Elaine Aumiller’s contract was not included in the vote. It will be reviewed later this summer, Nejdl said.