The superintendent of Bensenville’s Fenton High School has a new contract providing for a raise of up to 70 percent in his last year before retirement.
John Meredith, 52, has been Fenton’s superintendent since August 1992. The Fenton High School District 100 board approved Monday a new 3-year contract for Meredith with base pay of $104,846 for 1994-95.
But the pact includes a clause that could boost Meredith’s pay in his final year with the district by more than $90,000 if annual cost-of-living raises average 3.5 percent, his increase for the next school year.
The clause says that in Meredith’s final year with the district, his salary will rise by 7 percent times the number of years he has been Fenton superintendent, up to 10 years. If he stays in his position eight more years, he could receive a 70 percent raise in his last year.
Meredith was on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment.
But Sharon Pobloske, school board president, said Meredith’s contract is in line with “extra compensation we give our teachers.”
The board’s contract with the Fenton Education Association enables veteran teachers to receive the same increase of 7 percent times the number of years of employment, with two restrictions: The teacher must have worked at Fenton for 10 years, and no more than 20 years can be used in the computation.
A district official said that also provides for a 70 percent pay boost.
But the official said that the teacher must give three years’ notice of retirement and that the 70 percent raise is spread over those three years.
Meredith’s contract does not provide for spread-out payments.
Though the Fenton-style pay perk is unusual in DuPage school districts, it is not unprecedented. A similar provision is in teachers’ contracts in Downers Grove High School District 99. It provides for a 20 percent pay increase for each of three years after a teacher notifies the district of his or her intention to retire. The increase for each of the three years, however, is figured on the base pay of the first year.