Executive Editor

Mehlville School District Central Office and high school administrators will receive salary increases ranging from 2 percent to nearly 8.5 percent for the coming school year.

Mehlville Board of Education members voted in closed session last week to approve the salary increases for district administrators, who did not receive increases for the 2008-2009 school year because of a salary freeze. For the 2007-2008 school year, all administrators received a 6-percent pay increase.

In separate votes during the May 28 closed session, the board:

• Voted 6-1 to approve a 3-percent salary increase for Deputy Superintendent Eric Knost and extend his contract through the 2010-2011 school year. Knost will be paid $135,383 for the coming school year, up from his previous salary of $131,440. In November 2006, he was promoted to deputy superintendent and was paid a prorated salary of $124,000. Knost was promoted from the post of north area superintendent, which had a $110,770 salary for 2006-2007. In the 2005-2006 school year, Knost was paid $106,000. Knost previously served as principal of Oakville Senior High School and replaced North Area Superintendent Jane Reed, who retired in 2005.

Board member Venki Palamand was opposed.

• Voted 6-1 to approve a 3-percent salary increase for Assistant Superintendent-Supervision of Instruction Vicki VanLaere and extend her contract through the 2010-2011 school year. VanLaere will be paid $120,098 for the coming school year, up from her previous salary of $116,600.

She was promoted in November 2006 to assistant superintendent and paid a prorated salary of $110,000 after previously serving as executive director of human resources. VanLaere originally was set to be paid $104,238 for the 2006-2007 school year. She previously served as principal at Oakville Middle School.

Palamand was opposed.

• Voted 6-1 to approve a 3-percent increase for Assistant Superintendent-Curriculum Connie Hurst-Bayless and extend her contract through the 2010-2011 school year.

Hurst-Bayless will be paid $128,559 for the 2009-2010 school year, up from her previous salary of $124,815. She was paid $117,750 for the 2006-2007 school year. For the 2004-2005 school year, her salary was $112,183.49. The previous year, she was paid $107,848. In 2002-2003, she was paid $104,000. During the 2000-2001 school year, Hurst-Bayless’ salary was $92,000.

Palamand was opposed.

• Voted 6-1 to approve a nearly 8.5-percent increase for Assistant Superintendent-Supervision of Schools Brian Lane and extend his contract through the 2010-2011 school year. Lane will be paid $115,000 for the coming school year, up from his previous salary of $106,000. He was paid $100,000 for 2006-2007 school year. Lane was promoted to his current position in July 2006.

He previously had served as Oakville High assistant principal and was set to be paid $93,323.58 for the 2006-2007 school year. That initial raise was up 5.18 percent from his 2005-2006 salary of $88,728.90. For the 2004-2005 school year, he was paid $87,306.16. For the 2003-2004 school year, his salary was $83,167.49.

Palamand was opposed.

• Voted unanimously to re-employ Assistant Superintendent-Human Resources Lisa Counts for the 2009-2010 school year at a salary of $69,000. She will not work full time, but 0.6 time.

She began working for the district at the start of the 2007-2008 school year and was paid $103,000.

The Board of Education also voted unanimously last week to approve an agreement with Access Management Group Inc. to have James Fischer assist the Human Resources Department. He will work a maximum of 700 hours at $65 per hour for a total not to exceed $45,500.

Salaries of high school principals and assistant principals for the 2009-2010 school year are:

• Vince Viviano, Mehlville Senior High principal, $122,018, up nearly 3 percent from the $118,551 he previously was paid. He was paid $111,840 for the 2006-2007 school year. He previously was paid $107,544. For the 2004-2005 school year, Viviano was paid $106,028. For the 2003-2004 school year, his salary was $104,189.

• William Scheffler, Oakville Senior High School principal, $118,445, up 3 percent from the $114,995 he previously was paid. He was paid $108,486 for the 2006-2007 school year. He was paid $104,243.26 the previous year, his first as principal.

• Angelo Colona, Mehlville High assistant principal, $102,769, up 3 percent from the $99,776.39 he previously was paid. He was paid $94,128 for the 2006-2007 school year. He previously was paid $91,369. For the 2004-2005 school year, he was paid $90,919. For the 2003-2004 school year, his salary was $90,065.

• Denise Driscoll, Mehlville High assistant principal, $105,333, up 3 percent from the $102,265 she previously was paid. She was paid $96,476 for the 2006-2007 school year. She previously was paid $93,680.29. For the 2004-2005 school year, she was paid $92,233.14. For the 2003-2004 school year, her salary was $90,393.74.

• Robert Hicks, Mehlville High assistant principal, $95,078, up 3 percent from the $92,309 he previously was paid. He was paid $87,084 for the 2006-2007 school year. He previously was paid $83,447. For the 2004-2005 school year, his first at Mehlville, he was paid $82,050.

• Alicia Landers, Mehlville High assistant principal, $89,184, up 3 percent from the $86,586 she was paid her first year at Mehlville.

• Janet Anthony, Oakville High assistant principal, $101,046, up 2 percent from the $99,065 she previously was paid. She was paid $93,457 for the 2006-2007 school year. She previously was paid $89,719. For the 2004-2005 school year, she was paid $88,291.56. For the 2003-2004 school year, her salary was $86,452.

• Jan Kellerman, Oakville High assistant principal, $102,769, up 3 percent from her previous salary of $99,776.39. She was paid $94,128 for the 2006-2007 school year. She previously was paid $91,369.65. For the 2004-2005 school year, she was paid $89,933.88. For the 2003-2004 school year, her salary was $88,094.48.

• James Kern, Oakville High assistant principal, $91,781, up 3 percent from the $89,108.90 he previously was paid.

He was paid $84,065 for the 2006-2007 school year when he replaced Brian Lane last year after Lane was named assistant superintendent.

• Brian Brennan, Oakville High assistant principal, $87,000. He was paid $62,369 last year as an intern.

Palamand also opposed the pay hikes for high school administrators.

He told the Call he was “unable to support these blanket, 3-percent, across-the-board raises for administrators for two reasons. Even with the this year’s raises, our teachers will still likely be far below the county median. In contrast, administrators are better paid, and in some categories, they may even be above the county median. It is difficult to support raises for some groups, while others lag behind.

“If we expect and ask the public to be sensitive to our (Mehlville’s) needs, then we need to be sensitive to the world in which we operate. We need to be mindful of what is happening in the private sector. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is shrinking while the unemployment rate is rising. We live in very challenging economic times. I just could not support these specific raises at this time, and that’s why I voted ‘no,”’ Palamand added.

Noble told the Call, “I’m very proud of our administrative team. I think we have a very talented and hard-working group of administrators who are very focused, and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. We definitely want them to feel appreciated and valued.”

The board has yet to extend Noble’s contract, which runs through the 2009-2010 school year.

“I still have a year remaining on my current contract and we are in discussions and hopeful with coming up with an extension in the near future,” he said.

Under the terms of his contract, Noble received a 5-percent raise for the 2008-2009 school year, bringing his salary to $173,250. For the coming school year, he will receive a 5-percent raise, bringing his salary to $181,912.