The Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education approved a pay raise for Superintendent Laurie Heinz of more than $22,000 for the next school year. The move comes a couple of months after officials increased her salary by $14,200 for the current school year.
At the April 24 meeting, the board voted 5-2 to bump Heinz’s pay from $219,220 to $242,000 for the 2017-18 school year. The increase includes a 2.82 percent raise and market adjustment totaling $16,598. The board also voted 5-2 to extend Heinz’s three-year contract for an additional year through June 2020.
The board adjourned into closed session at the meeting to discuss Heinz’s evaluation, the extension of her contract and pay raise. When the board returned to open session, board President Anthony Borrelli said the officials had discussed whether the current board should vote on the contract extension and pay raise prior to seating the four new members elected to the board April 4.
Rick Biagi, Larry Ryles, Fred Sanchez and Eastman Tiu will replace departing board members Bob Johnson, Vicki Lee, Vice President Scott Zimmerman and Terry Cameron.
Borrelli said that because the current board has worked closely with Heinz over the past year, it made the most sense for the current officials to evaluate her performance and make the decision regarding her contract approval and pay raise. The new board members were to be sworn in May 1.
“I firmly believe it’s this board that should make these decisions this time around,” said board member Tom Sotos. He added that he had to vote on a pay increase and contract extension for Heinz shortly after he was elected to the board in 2015. Sotos said he doesn’t “want to put new board members in that position” given the lack of information he had at that time.
When Heinz was hired as superintendent in 2014, Borrelli said, “she was well below market rate on purpose” because she was “new to the superintendent ranks.” Heinz previously served as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction with Skokie School District 68.
“Due to Dr. Heinz’s competence and efforts and achievements, we’d like to provide her with a market adjustment to get her closer to a position where other like-achieving superintendents are,” he said.
The raise and market adjustment “bring her into alignment with superintendent compensation in similar school districts that have been in their positions for about the same length of time,” wrote the district’s chief school business official, Luann Kolstad, in an email following the meeting. The pay increase does not include any additional benefits compensation, according to Bernadette Tramm, public information coordinator for the district. Per her contract, Heinz receives health insurance coverage, term life insurance equal to her annual pay, travel reimbursement, reimbursement for membership in continuing education and professional organizations, 20 vacations days per year and a yearly stipend for a personally owned communication device.
Zimmerman said all board members agreed that Heinz is “doing a great job and needs to be taken care of.”
“I think everyone universally thinks we are on a far better path than we were,” he said. “We really think the district is moving in a great direction, and that is in large part due to [Heinz].”
Eggemann and Johnson voted against the pay increase. Eggemann also voted against the one-year contract extension along with Sotos.
Eggemann said that because the district hired Heinz while she was working as an assistant superintendent and provided her with an opportunity to serve as the top administrator for the district, “I think there should be some savings to the taxpayer in that regard.”
Johnson said that while he believes “Heinz has done a fabulously great job for the district,” the pay increase is “a little bit high for what I’m comfortable with.”
Eggemann said he also disagrees with annually adding a year onto Heinz’s three-year revolving contract.
Sotos said he’s not in favor of the contract extension unless Heinz agreed to give the district a year’s notice before she intends to leave her position. When he voted in favor of her pay raise, Sotos said, “I’m hoping Dr. Heinz is here, five, six or seven years. I hope this helps [Heinz] realize we want you here that long.”
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Heinz thanked the board for the salary increase and contract extension.
“I’m very humbled,” she said.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.