Batavia school board member questions workers' phone, travel payments

Batavia school board member John Dryden is questioning whether dozens of district employees should receive flat monthly payments for cellphone and travel expenses.

He voted against approving district expenses Tuesday night, because it included those payments to 47 administrators and 25 support personnel, Dryden said.

He thinks the roughly $140,000 a year would be better spent raising pay for employees at the low end of the salary scale - such as groundskeepers and special-education aides, he said.

"When they ask for a few more dollars an hour, we beg poverty. We can, on the other hand, afford to pay people who make over $100,000 a year a few extra thousand dollars through the back door. Call it "reimbursement' if you will - I call it a 'winner take all' payroll," Dryden said. The payments are labeled reimbursements, Dryden said, but he thinks they are really additional, untaxed income. He also questioned the amounts paid. The phone rate is $95 a month; travel is $166 a month.

But employees must have smartphones with voice and data capabilities, said Anton Inglese, the district's chief financial officer.

Dryden distributed a list of participating administrators, including the superintendent, assistant superintendent, communications director, principals, assistant principals, deans, several directors and head teachers. Support workers listed include the district's theater director, safety director, and six maintenance workers.

The phone and travel benefits for administrators are covered by a district policy referenced in the individual administrators' contracts, most of which expire June 30. Superintendent Lisa Hichens' three-year contract expires in 2016.