School Board Upping Pay For New Superintendent

Whoever is hired to replace Dan O’Donnell as superintendent of  will receive about a 17.5 percent pay increase over what O’Donnell made this year.

According to the Ray and Associates job posting on the superintendent search firm’s website, the salary range for the new hire is $235,000 plus benefits. O’Donnell was paid $200,000 this year plus benefits, confirmed Kristy Kuntz, the district’s executive director of human resources.

Board President Bill Walsh said the board partly looked at surrounding districts for guidance in setting the new salary guideline.

“After the board reviewed comparable compensations of surrounding areas as well as listening to the feedback from all the groups interviewed by Ray and Associates, the decision was made to align a compensation package accordingly,” he wrote in an email response to questions. “We expect that this package will attract a visionary candidate, who possesses the leadership and strong administrative skills necessary to lead this district of 17,200 students.”

By comparison, outgoing Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich is being paid $228,000 in the final year of this three-year contract and Plainfield District 202 Superintendent John Harper is paid about $251,000 annually, according to financial reports from districts 202 and 203. 

District 308 faces a $4 million preliminary budget shortfall next year due partly to the hiring of at least 25 new teachers for the 2012-13 school year. Walsh said the pay raise is justified given the many challenges facing the district in coming years.

“The community, district employees and Board of Education have high expectations of this individual to lead the district through the conversion to the common core standards, help manage the high school schedule change to Flex 8, navigate the district through the evaluation criteria for the district’s educators as outlined in Senate Bill -7, build a vision for the district based on the changes encountered with limited resources, as well as many other initiatives, thus an appropriate investment in the right individual will pay dividends for years to come,” he wrote.

O’Donnell will leave the district June 30 after nearly three years on the job. He , citing continued differences with members of the school board.

The search for his replacement is ongoing and Ray and Associates are . Prospective candidates may begin interviews with the board as early as the second week in May.