Vernon Hills High principal's salary on track for 29 percent hike
Vernon Hills High School Principal Ellen Cwick's salary will increase by nearly 29 percent by the time she retires in 2014, according to the newly released terms of her final contract.
Cwick makes $166,386 annually now, but thanks to a series of planned raises, will make $214,096 in her final year of service, her deal states.
A description of Cwick's scheduled salary increases was released to the Daily Herald on Thursday. The Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 board approved the deal Aug. 24, the same night Cwick formally announced her retirement plans.
Cwick's salary increased 4 percent for the 2009-10 term. It will increase 6 percent for each of the next four years, District 128 officials said.
Cwick, who could not be reached for comment, is set to retire in July 2014, after the 2014-15 fiscal year begins. As a result, she will receive a per-diem salary for 11 days of the 2014-15 term that's based on her previous year's salary.
That final year's salary will set Cwick's pension.
School board member Judy Sugarman defended the anticipated 6 percent salary bumps, saying they're the same as what any District 128 teacher would receive before retirement.
"We recognize longevity, devotion to the district and their hard work through the years," Sugarman said.
District officials can use promises of generous, pre-retirement raises to lure quality administrators, board member Alex Delli Paoli Jr. said. District 128 officials will use Cwick's retirement package to help lure her eventual replacement, he said.
"It is about competition," Delli Paoli said. "Look around at how many superintendent positions are open. We want to be able to succeed in this competitive atmosphere."
A suburban tax watchdog criticized the deal.
The salary increases would be extreme in normal economic times, said Jack Roeser, founder of the Carpentersville-based Family Taxpayers Foundation. In this poor economy, they're "absurd," he said.
"What she's getting is outrageous," Roeser said. "The taxpayer isn't going to get a pension like that."
District 128 board members know people working in other fields are losing their jobs or seeing salaries frozen or reduced because of the recession.
"But even in this economy, we feel rewarding her for her long years of service is an appropriate thing to do," board President Pat Groody said.
Cwick has held the post since 2003 and is only the second principal in the school's history. She came to the school as its assistant principal in 2001, having previously worked at schools in DuPage County.
Cwick announced her plans to step down so long before her actual retirement because of a new state retirement system requirement.
Sugarman praised Cwick's work for the district.
"Ellen has done a fabulous job as principal," she said. "Her responsibilities are enormous. Her time commitment to the district is seven days a week."
A replacement has not been chosen.