5.1 percent average raise for Longview school administrators
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:40 PM PDT
By Carrie Pederson
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe Longview School Board adopted a $70 million budget for 2008-2009 at Monday’s board meeting.
The district cut $2.4 million from the budget this year and “there will be continued hard times ahead,” said Dennis Hilberg, the district’s finance director.
The top 10 paid officials in the district got a 5.1 percent raise on average, in accordance with raises the Legislature approved last spring.
Top ten salaries in the 2008—2009 budget for the Longview School District and percentage raise:
Person/position 2007-08 2008-09
Suzanne Cusick, superintendent NA $158,321*
Ann Cavanaugh, director of elementary education $104,017 $109,357 5.1%
Chris Fritsch, director of secondary education $102,675 $109,357 6.5%**
John O. Vencill, human resources director $104,017 $109,357 5.1%
Ron Yauchzee, director of special and technical education $102,675 $107,944 5.1%
Debra Hawkins, director of assessments $102,675 $107,944 5.1%
Dennis Hilberg, director of finance and technology $96,844 $105,586 9%***
Rod McHattie, principal of Mark Morris High School $90,756 $104,222 14 %**
Andrew Frost, principal of R.A. Long High School $92,408 $104,222 12 %***
Bruce Holoway, principal of Cascade Middle School $96,427 $101,376 5.1 %
* Cusick became superintendent in July, moving to Longview from Hillsboro, Ore.
**Fritsch was promoted from principal of Mark Morris High School to an executive director position and McHattie was promoted from assistant principal of Mark Morris to principal
*** Hilberg and Frost got a raise after their first year working in the district in addition to the increase ordered by the Legislature.
feistyone wrote on Aug 27, 2008 3:11 AM:
" Pretty hefty increase considering all the budget cuts and people struggling to make ends meet because of the rising costs due to oil prices. "
concerned wrote on Aug 27, 2008 8:17 AM:
" Now you see that if Kelso school admin had only gotten a 5.1% raise I am sure not so many people would be up in arms. Once again it shows that Longview schools are doing what it takes to educate everyone even special ed kids without cutting funds. "
wahoo wrote on Aug 27, 2008 8:51 AM:
" I appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into each of your days. I'm sure it's not easy having your increases in salary posted in a time when the economy is depressed. Know, despite some of the rants that will likely follow, that each of you are appreciated for the work you do. It is admirable to stay with in the realm of education and try to make a difference in our community. I have seen many of you helping in various charitable/civic avenues. You have a vested interest in our children and our community. I believe a large majority of our community agrees with me, and I apologize (in advance) for a minority of folks that will likely post negative comments. This community is frustrated with a lack of jobs and $$, so know it is ill-directed venting. "
Tacompton wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:05 AM:
" Every teacher is a joke. you all say you go into teaching b/c you want to make a difference, but as soon as you are in the union, all teachers demand a raise! Its complete BS. Getting a teaching degree is a joke degree, it is a fallout for not having a plan after 4 years of college. "dont know what i want to do with my degree, I guess i can just jump into teaching and get a lot of money for only working 188 days out of the year" its a cop-out. Teachers make me sick...go get a real job!! "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:12 AM:
" I guess the Longview School District had a better year than Boeing did last year. Boeing only had one of its best years ever. Yet it is offering only 2.1 - 2.5. And in this day and age that is about right. So once again local and state government seems out of step with the private sector and that has to be concerning. It is an indication that government thinks the tax well is never ending. It's mighty deep and going deeper I guess. I just don't see a principal of a drop-out factory being worth $100,000. When does work performance and results come into these raises. These just seem to be across the board. I just don't see a major improvement in the Longview School District that warrants these kind of administrative raises. I just don't. "
greenbean wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:40 AM:
" Once again, increases out-pacing local businesses in the private sector by probably double. Why is it they don't determine acceptable raises according to their budget, instead of raises first, then cut other places to make it work? Makes no sense. And these are the people teaching our children. "
75CB400FRider wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:43 AM:
" TDN bad boy hit the nail on the head. I couldn't agree more about the dropout factory comment! "
kalamagrad wrote on Aug 27, 2008 10:00 AM:
" Tacompton:
Your qualifications to rip teachers are what? I normally don't respond to ignorance about my profession, but your comment was stupid-you don't have a clue on what teachers do. I would tell you to that if you know so much, try being a teacher yourself, but you no doubt will have some stupid excuse on why you would reject that advice. What do you do for a living-probably nothing nearly as important as teaching! "
Your qualifications to rip teachers are what? I normally don't respond to ignorance about my profession, but your comment was stupid-you don't have a clue on what teachers do. I would tell you to that if you know so much, try being a teacher yourself, but you no doubt will have some stupid excuse on why you would reject that advice. What do you do for a living-probably nothing nearly as important as teaching! "
seriously wrote on Aug 27, 2008 10:01 AM:
" So 'Tacompton', who's going to educate our children if teachers go and get a 'real job'? Besides, this article is about the administrators, not the teachers. I'm not a teacher but I personally don't think they make near enough for educating the youth of our future. You sound like a real dolt. "
Kalama Dude wrote on Aug 27, 2008 10:33 AM:
" 98% of all Teachers do it because they want to PERIOD Why would anyone put up with the garbage and disinterested students and worse parents IF they didn't have a simple goal of educating children. As was noted the increases here are with admins and they create meetings to keep busy, so clearly their raises are suspect. Trying to tie this to teachers is foolish. Where do some get this vitriol and how to they get through the day. So very very sad! "
tacompton wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:16 AM:
" I know this, b/c my mom is a teacher with the puyallup school district. Just last year the bethel school district teachers got a raise b/c they thought they deserved it...which is fine, but then the district suffered a 7 million dollar plus shortfall for this year due to the raises the admin and teachers got...to compensate for the short fall, what do you think they did? but of course, cut programs that could have benefited the kids. Go to any university out there and find a student that doesnt know what they want to do as a career, more than likely you will get the same answer "I dont know, i guess i could always become a teacher"
BS I tell ya "
BS I tell ya "
skeezix wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:22 AM:
" Concerned, Comparitively speaking, Kelso should have recieved even more in some areas. Of the positions listed, the only one where a Kelso administrator makes significantly more than their Longview counterpart is the High School Principal. Even with the higher raises, they make less afer all is said and done. And to Feistyone, are you suggesting that because there are some people stuggling, nobody should get a raise? And to Tacompton, here's a suggestion...how about you go and get "A" job. "
Thought wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:25 AM:
" Any CEO of any company with the track record of public schools would be out of a job!! The amount of money spent vs the quality of education delivered is questionable if not criminal. Study after study state public schools are not meeting the goals of educating our children.. Whats the biggest union in the state?? We are paying a huge money monster and children suffer for it..
Now dazzle me with brilliance but don't try to baffle me with BS!!! "
Now dazzle me with brilliance but don't try to baffle me with BS!!! "
skeezix wrote on Aug 27, 2008 12:06 PM:
" Tacompton,
So what you're saying here is that your mother is a lazy, unmotivated individual without any goals in life and who is willing to settle for something that allows her to just hang around and get a paycheck? I bet she is very proud of you...... "
So what you're saying here is that your mother is a lazy, unmotivated individual without any goals in life and who is willing to settle for something that allows her to just hang around and get a paycheck? I bet she is very proud of you...... "
seriously wrote on Aug 27, 2008 12:24 PM:
" Looks like you're digging yourself into a hole 'Tacompton'. You say teachers are a joke and they make you sick, yet your mother is a teacher? Hmmm... I agree with 'greenbean's' comment earlier that a bugdet should be determined first before raises are considered. But that would be too logical for our Legislature. "
banana hammock wrote on Aug 27, 2008 12:31 PM:
" I would have to agree with tacompton in that the unions do corrupt the system. Teachers as well as administrators should have thier raises based on performance not on a required raise with no regard to their performance.
It's getting out of control "
It's getting out of control "
jackie wrote on Aug 27, 2008 12:54 PM:
" I wonder how much the non union employees got. I know in Kalama they got no raise other than the state mandated cost of living. School bus drivers too. Meanwhile, all of us tax payers got very little raises, excpet the cost of living went up substantialy. "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 27, 2008 1:10 PM:
" From 2006 to 2007, Longview School District's WASL scores fell in every single grade level, except for 5th. Last year a whopping 48% of the tenth graders passed the WASL. This year it's 42%. Seventh grade math went from a 46% pass rate down to a 35% pass rate. Fourth grade reading went from 66.6% to 59.6%. To celebrate, the administration gets a raise... "
Rosey Glasses wrote on Aug 27, 2008 1:37 PM:
" The raises between Kelso and Longview should not be camparable... one Longview has more schools, more kids and such. Kelso has ONE high school and TWO jr highs, Longview has Two high schools and I forget how many jr highs. Kelso should have had the SAME factor as Longview for percent of pay increase. What a bunch of bull! "
yakima bear wrote on Aug 27, 2008 2:18 PM:
" I am not going to comment on the raises, but do take issues with those of you that condemn our teachers. I agree not all teacher are good, but the majority are teaching because they love it. why has our test scores gone down. Ask the lazy parents that do NOTHING to prepare their children for education. I know growing up, my parents were always aware of my progress and helped me when i needed it. Today kids get to first grade without any knowledge of the alphebet or colors. Education is a partnership between parents and teachers. My wife is a teacher and there have been instances where she would send books or school work home. The child would come back to school and was frightened to take any more home because his dad would beat him if he made a mistake. Tacompton, you don't have a clue to what it takes to be a teacher. Either you dislike your mother, or mother has shown you what a bad teacher looks like. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 27, 2008 3:09 PM:
" Ella Mentry, you forget one thing. The Liberal Demoncrat Legislators and Governor in Olympia set all of this in motion with the unfunded pay increases they passed onto the districts. You make a great point that illustrates mine. Blanket raises like this for everyone leaves out quality of work or job performance accountability. You cannot tell me that an elamentary school principal and a high school principal are exactly the same work and producing exactly the same results. But then again, looking at the drop out rate and the WASL scores maybe they are. This type of blanket raise removes the incentive to do creative work and find difficult solutions. Why should the RAL principal worry. He gets the same raise as everyone else. This has socialist union group politics all over it. "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 27, 2008 3:15 PM:
" Teachers are not to blame for the problems in education in this state. The teachers I've encountered are dedicated, hard working...and frustrated with the system. Education begins in the home. Many parents don't outline clear expectations of their kids. They don't help with homework, or even inquire if there IS homework. They don't ensure their kids get proper sleep and nutrition. These are the parents who scream the loudest when their kids fail or get into trouble at school. They have the mentality that "school" is solely responsible for education, and when it's not successful, it must be the school's fault. The problem is...how do we change the mindset of an entire generation before the same mistakes are made with the next generation? These are monumental problems teachers face. Add to that federal interference, budget cuts, high stakes testing, large class sizes, lack of basic supplies, horrible communication from OSPI, and a state leader who has repeatedly blamed teachers for low test scores. WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYONE WANT TO BE A TEACHER IN THIS STATE???? We should be thankful to those who are dedicated enough to wade through the bureaucracy and make the attempt to educate. God bless every one of them. "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 27, 2008 3:28 PM:
" I may be the crazy mom who doesn't allow her kids to WASL, and I may have vented to a few educators, but I sincerely hope that teachers don't think I'm against them. I'm merely taking a stand and doing what I believe is best for my children...I believe Terry Bergeson has created a monumental mess of education. I am frustrated at the lack of communication between OSPI and the classroom teacher...but never once believed it was any teacher's fault. I practically live at the OSPI website, and last year the rules seemed to change daily. For teachers to keep up with that nonsense is just not even practical. I'd rather they stayed focused on providing an enriching education for my kids. All of that said, do administrators need to be receiving massive raises when the classrooms can't even afford tissue for runny noses? When teachers buy, with their own money, basic supplies? When students have to "check out" text books at the end of the day because there aren't enough to go around? "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 27, 2008 4:00 PM:
" TDN Bad Boy: I actually agree with you, but I would never use WASL as the measuring stick of success. Sorry that my sarcasm wasn't obvious. Our state has done a bang-up job of convincing the public that scores from this flawed test are actually important. For instance we look at the award Carrolls school received last year for their increase in WASL scores and say, "Yay...those teachers must be doing something right, while the teachers at Catlin are obviously inferior and should find another profession." (Funny example, since Carrolls took a nose-dive in their scores this year...no shiny award for them) The collective achievement of any school is primarily a result of financial status and ethnicity. A school with predominantly white, middle class students will score higher on WASL than a school with a high percentage of English learners, and those in poverty. Fact. We've even given this a nice name: The Achievement Gap. It's growing at an alarming rate. "
yakima bear wrote on Aug 27, 2008 4:00 PM:
" TDN Bad Boy brings up a good point. Unions do breed some incompetencies, that is all unions. All labor unions base jobs and pay on how long you have been with the company. After you get the job there is no incentive to do a good job. But I feel teachers are there because they want to. I wouldn't want to face a classroom of 30 kids everyday, knowing that they can do whatever they wish, and I have no alternative. I can't kick them out of class or swat them ( like the good old days) The liberals have made sure that the student has way more rights than the teachers. In every occupation you have good workers and bad. "
IWCJ wrote on Aug 27, 2008 4:09 PM:
" I couldn't help but notice that Debra Hawkins ($107,944 per year) is the district assessment director. In Kelso the same position is called Assessment Coordinator, I think. This person's job only exists because of WASL (and now CBAs). I wonder...if Terry Bergeson is voted out this November, will this position exist next year? Sorry, Debra...I'm sure you're a lovely person, and I'm sure you do an excellent job of interpreting the nonsense OSPI sends your way. But golly...if every district in this state had someone to oversee "assessments aka WASL"...that bill would add up to $25 million dollars per year. Not including benefits. WOW! Add that to the already $1.7 billion dollar WASL bill...cha ching! No wonder on the school supply lists some items are flagged as "for the classroom." Hmmm. We can't afford tissue for our students' noses...but we can find money for fat raises... "
Proud Mama wrote on Aug 27, 2008 4:09 PM:
" 70 million dollars, for what? I just can't believe that with 70 MILLION DOLLARS that we can't give our kids a top-knotch education. What a joke! Sounds comparable to the money being spent on the war....ABSOLUTELY wasteful with no return in value. We need to bring back charter schools so the money follows the student and the schools compete for that money.....meaning they have to have an excellent program to bring in attendance. With 70 million no child should fall through the cracks. "
columbian wrote on Aug 27, 2008 4:41 PM:
" Kelso,LONGVIEW,There not the only ones with problems with administration money come see what we got for $30,000 dollars in raises for a supertendent. "
Kay English wrote on Aug 27, 2008 7:32 PM:
" The Longview school district administrators got the same percentage raise as the teachers and noncert staff (except paraeducators got an additional percentage on top of the 5.1%) Why is that? A stronger union that is affiliated with AFLCIO? "
just a mom wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:42 PM:
" Kay English... where did you get your numbers?? Paraeducators did NOT get an ADDITIONAL PERCENTAGE ON TOP OF THE 5.1%. They got 4.4% and if you knew anything you would know that they still make VERY little... and at the poverty level still, and always........ "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 27, 2008 10:24 PM:
" These increases show no difference between State supported schools staff getting raises even when student education is falling apart vs. Corporations giving raises to their executives, even companies profits keep going down. "
Soon to be WSU Grad wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:32 PM:
" TDN why do you let people like Tacompton post such garbage.
The US is one of the few nations in the world that has compulsory secondary schooling. I think the reason that many have a negative view of teaching is a combination of events. The US has a lot of schools that require a lot of teachers so there is always a demand. Teachers should get paid more but they don't because they are public servants. Teachers across the state of Washington are all on the same base pay scale but can get more depending on their districts property taxes. Our society wants schools to improve our education system without having it cost more.
There are many students who enter universities with a desire to become teachers from the start. The road to becoming a teacher is not so easy either. Secondary teachers are required to earn a four year degree as well as earn a teaching certificate. The alternative is to get a BA and then go for a Masters in education. Easier road than taking a four year degree?
Shame on those dedicated people who spend their careers educating our children. We should all forget trying to make the next generation better and all focus on making tons of cash. "
The US is one of the few nations in the world that has compulsory secondary schooling. I think the reason that many have a negative view of teaching is a combination of events. The US has a lot of schools that require a lot of teachers so there is always a demand. Teachers should get paid more but they don't because they are public servants. Teachers across the state of Washington are all on the same base pay scale but can get more depending on their districts property taxes. Our society wants schools to improve our education system without having it cost more.
There are many students who enter universities with a desire to become teachers from the start. The road to becoming a teacher is not so easy either. Secondary teachers are required to earn a four year degree as well as earn a teaching certificate. The alternative is to get a BA and then go for a Masters in education. Easier road than taking a four year degree?
Shame on those dedicated people who spend their careers educating our children. We should all forget trying to make the next generation better and all focus on making tons of cash. "
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