The Mehlville School District already had its next superintendent lined up, but the Board of Education made it official last week.
Board members voted 6-1 to approve a $197,000 contract for the incoming superintendent, current Wright City Superintendent Chris Gaines, with Secretary Lori Trakas opposed.
Gaines, 44, plans to move to Mehlville, and the $185,000 contract negotiated with Gaines by board President Ron Fedorchak provides an extra $1,000 allowance for each month that Gaines lives in the district.
That is more than both the $195,000 salary interim Superintendent Norm Ridder makes this year and the $190,592 salary that former Superintendent Eric Knost earned last year.
The board initially voted 4-3 Feb. 5 to hire Gaines, with Trakas, Fedorchak and Vice President Venki Palamand dissenting.
“Although Dr. Gaines is not my choice, at the end of the day after the votes are tallied, he will have my full support as he assumes this helm,” Trakas said just before last week’s vote on the contract.
Ridder and Gaines both received a $10,000 moving allowance. Gaines will be the first superintendent to live in the district since Tim Ricker moved from Eureka before he retired in 2006.
In Wright City, Gaines makes $144,664 this year and was set to be paid $153,344 for the 2015-2016 school year, which would have been his eighth year in the 1,500-student district.
Under the terms in Wright City, health insurance for Gaines’ family was paid for by the district or he would receive $23,345 as extra salary.
All Mehlville School District administrators received 2-percent raises this year, up from 1.5-percent increases the past several years.
The board voted 6-1 to grant the raises last summer, when Knost was still superintendent. Trakas voted against the raises, citing the district’s $5 million budget deficit. The administrative increases add up to an extra $60,000.
An equivalent increase in classified salaries passed 7-0, at a cost of $350,000.
Lisa Counts, assistant superintendent, $124,471, up from $122,030 last year and $120,227 the previous year.
Brian Lane, assistant superintendent, $124,471, up from $122,030 last year and $120,227 the previous year.
Tina Plummer, assistant superintendent, $120,456, up from $118,094 last year and $116,349 the previous year.
Marshall Crutcher, chief financial officer, $117,300, up from $115,000 last year, his first year replacing retired CFO Noel Knobloch.
Jeff Bresler, executive director of student services, $116,650, up from $114,353 last year and $111,863 the previous year, when Bresler was the principal of Rogers Elementary.
Steven Lee, director of technology services, $109,118, up from $106,978 last year and $105,397 the previous year.
Mark Catalana, executive director of human resources, $100,000. The board voted 7-0 to promote Catalana from director of human resources, where his salary last year was $91,000. As the interim director of human resources the previous year, Catalana made $87,000.
John DeWalle, director of the Witzel Alternative Academy, $77,520. As director of programs last year, DeWalle made $76,000. The previous year, he was an administrative intern of programs at a salary of $66,859.
Pollie Richardson, SCOPE/SSLCMS principal, $115,233, up from $112,974 last year and $111,304 the previous year.
Jan Kellerman, Oakville High principal, $120,846, up from $118,476 last year and $116,725 the previous year.
Ross Bullington, Oakville High assistant principal, $94,164, up from $92,500 last year and $88,550 when Bullington was assistant principal at Buerkle Middle School for the 2012-2013 school year.
Brian Brennan, Oakville High assistant principal, $94,350, up from $92,318 last year and $90,954 the previous year.
Matthew Willett, Oakville High assistant principal, $87,000, up from $63,894 as an administrative intern last year. The previous year, Willett was a teacher at OHS.
Denise Swanger, Mehlville High principal, $125,049, up from $122,597 last year and $120,785 the previous year.
Shannon Pike, Mehlville High assistant principal, $95,625, up from $93,750 last year and $92,365 the previous year.
Jason Landherr, Mehlville High assistant principal, $88,740, up from $87,000 last year. The previous year, Landherr was an administrative intern for $60,475.
Andrew Ross, Mehlville High assistant principal, $87,000, up from $59,672 last year as an administrative intern. He was previously an MHS teacher.
Lori Sullivan, Bernard Middle principal, $103,530, up from $101,500 last year and $100,000 the previous year.
Paul Westbrook, Bernard Middle assistant principal, $84,100, up from $82,451 last year and $81,233 the previous year.
Mike Salsman, Oakville Middle principal, $113,753, up from $111,523 last year and $109,875 the previous year.
Patrick Bellinger, Oakville Middle assistant principal, $87,923, up from $86,199 last year and $84,925 the previous year.
Jim Kern, Margaret Buerkle Middle principal, $103,530, up from $101,500 last year. Kern was previously an assistant principal at Oakville High, where he made $95,952.
Michelle Wood, assistant principal at Margaret Buerkle Middle, $81,000, up from $66,964 as an administrative intern last year. The previous year, Wood was a social studies teacher at Oakville High.
Whitney Maus, assistant principal splitting her time between Trautwein Elementary and Margaret Buerkle Middle School, $77,000, up from $49,016 last year, when Maus was an administrative intern. She was previously a third-grade teacher at Blades Elementary.
Adam Smith, Washington Middle principal, $108,235, up from $106,114 last year and $104,545 the previous year.
Andrew Kuhnert, Washington Middle assistant principal, $81,000, up from $60,329 last year as an administrative intern. He was previously a teacher at Buerkle Middle School. Elementary school principal salaries for the 2014-2015 school year are:
Scott Andrews, Hagemann Elementary principal, $121,416, up from $115,114 last year and $113,413 the previous year.
Jeremy Booker, Blades Elementary principal, $102,354, up from $96,425 last year and $95,000 the previous year.
Patrick Keenoy, Rogers Elementary principal, $96,900, up from $95,000 last year. The previous year, Keenoy was assistant principal at Washington Middle School, with a salary of $91,473.
Scott Clark, Forder Elementary principal, $104,659, up from $98,685 last year and $97,227 the previous year.
Andrea Deane, Beasley Elementary principal, $99, 828, up from $97,871 last year and $96,425 the previous year.
Chad Dickemper, Oakville Elementary principal, $104,659, up from $98,685 last year and $97,227 the previous year.
Dan Gieseler, Point Elementary principal, $98,354, up from $96,425 last year and $95,000 the previous year.
Shannon Henderson, Trautwein Elementary principal, $99,000. Henderson replaced retired Principal Donna Wagener, who made $108,786 last year, up from $107,178.
Dave Meschke, Wohlwend Elementary principal, $108,528, up from $102,478 last year and $100,964 the previous year.
Kristy Roberts, Bierbaum Elementary principal, $113,025, up from $110,809 last year and $109,171 the previous year.
Kelly Roberts, Bierbaum Elementary assistant principal, $77,648, up from $76,125 last year and $75,000 the previous year.
Laurie Tretter-Larkin, assistant principal at Blades Elementary, $75,000, up from $60,225 last year, when she was a half-time administrative intern and half-time music teacher, up from $53,489 the previous year.
Alicia Landers, director of curriculum technology, $98,354, up from $96,424 last year and $95,000 the previous year.
Sherri Lange, director of federal programs, $93,177, up from $91,350 last year and $90,000 the previous year.
Becky Czuppon, director of activities at Oakville High, $84,423, up from $82,768 last year and $81,545 the previous year.
Ann Westbrook, director of early childhood, $82,824, up from $81,200 last year and $80,000 the previous year.
Amanda Zink, director of secondary curriculum, $82,824, up from $81,200 last year and $80,000 the previous year.
Sarah Fahrner, director of elementary curriculum, $77,648, up from $76,125 last year and $75,000 the previous year.
Tim Champion, director of activities at Mehlville High, $72,420, up from $71,000 last year.
Barbara Ehlen, director of Parents as Teachers, $$69,314, up from $67,955 last year and $66,951 the previous year.
Steve Habeck, director of facilities, $95,000, up from $87,569 last year and $86,275 the previous year.
Steve Meyer, assistant director of technology services, $77,648, up from $76,125 last year and $75,000 the previous year.
John Wolff, director of communications and public relations, $75,060, up from $73,588 last year and $72,500 the previous year.
Dan Gilman, director of transportation, $73,558, up from $72,116 last year and $71,050 the previous year.
Lisa Furey, director of accounting, $72,518, up from $71,096 last year and $70,045 the previous year.
Katie Koester, director of food and nutrition services, $66,024, up from $64,729 last year and $63,772 the previous year.
John Tucker, assistant director of facilities, $59,570, up from $58,402 last year and $57,539 the previous year.
Alex Fees, communications and public relations specialist, $59,160, up from $58,000 last year. Fees came to the district last year from KSDK, where he was a reporter for many years.
