Staff Report
Superintendent Jim Sandfort has been awarded an 9.5 percent raise for the 2005-2006 school year by the Lind-bergh Board of Education.
Sandfort is being paid $172,500 for the 2005-2006 school year, a 9.5 percent increase from the $157,500 he received for the 2004-2005 school year. Sandfort, who has been with the district 13 years, was paid $145,000 for the 2003-2004 school year, $132,500 for the 2002-2003 school year, $122,500 for the 2001-2002 school year and $117,330 for the 2000-2001 school year.
As superintendent, Sandfort also receives additional benefits, including paid family insurance and a monthly travel allowance.
The Board of Education voted in 2000 to adopt a 100 percent, performance-based compensation system to determine the salaries of all administrators except for the superintendent.
The system, based on those used in the private sector, ties compensation to performance and to an index based on the average of salaries paid by five “benchmark” school districts to ensure Lindbergh’s salaries remain competitive with districts competing for the same personnel. The benchmark districts include Kirkwood, Mehlville, Parkway, Pattonville and Rockwood.
For the 2005-2006 school year, individual pay increases, excluding the superintendent, range from 1.9 percent to 8.5 percent based on performance and comparable compensation relative to the average of the benchmark school districts. With the exception of the superintendent, administrators receive the same benefits as other employees, such as an individual employee insurance package that includes health, hospitalization, dental, vision and life benefits.
Salaries of Central Office administrators for the 2005-2006 school year are:
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Pat Lanane will be paid $133,400, an 8.5 percent increase from the $122,945 he earned last year. He was paid $117,314 for the 2003-2004 school year, $111,200 for the 2002-2003 school year, $106,636 for the 2001-2002 school year and $101,545 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Rick Frances will be paid $115,568, a 5.4 percent increase from the $109,599 he was paid last year. He was paid $103,787 for the 2003-2004 school year and for the 2002-2003 school year, his first year with the district, he was paid $97,000.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruc-tion Nancy Rathjen will be paid $110,447, a 6.6 percent increase from the $103,596 she was paid for the 2004-2005 school year. She was paid $97,000 for the 2003-2004 school year, her first year with the district.
Director of Facilities Karl Guyer will be paid $101,199, a 4.2 percent increase over the $97,041 he was paid last year. For the 2003-2004 school year he was paid $92,951, $88,107 for the 2002-2003 school year, $84,922 for the 2001-2002 school year and $80,878 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Lindbergh will take advantage of the departure of three employees, an assistant superintendent and two directors, to reorganize its Central Office services at a savings of more than $120,000, according to a district news release.
“The Board of Education challenged us to look at each of our operations and search for every possible savings,” Sandfort stated in the release. “We thought, given the current financial situation, that we should start with the Cen-tral Office. We don’t know whether reorganization will be viable in the long run, but by shifting some responsibilities to other assistant superintendents and by realigning job responsibilities within curriculum and instruction, we are going to begin the year with one less assistant superintendent.
“Federal and state mandates and community expectations haven’t decreased, if anything they continue to expand. But we felt we needed to attempt this reorganization to see if we can make it work without jeopardizing our level of service. We are essentially combining two divisions, Curri-culum and Instruction and Special Services, into one,” he added.
Joining the Curriculum and Instruction Division are Chuck Triplett, director of curriculum and student programs, and Tara Sparks, director of assessment and student services.
Sparks taught English at Sperreng Middle School for seven years. She was the 2003-2004 Missouri State Teach-er of the Year and has earned National Board Certification for her teaching.
Triplett taught social studies at Lindbergh High School for 14 years and most recently served as administrative intern for the ninth grade.
Triplett’s salary will be $76,000 and Sparks’ salary will be $74,000. Overall savings in administrative costs to the district due to the reorganization is projected to be in excess of $120,000, the release stated.
Salaries of Lindbergh High School administrators for the 2005-2006 school year are:
Principal Ron Helms will be paid $114,929, a 4.8 percent increase over the $109,665 he was paid last year. He was paid $103,950 for the 2002-2003 school year and $99,000 for the 2001-2002 school year — his first year as principal.
Assistant Principal Keith Luebbert will be paid $103,920, a 3.4 percent increase over the $100,503 he was paid last year. He was paid $96,872 for the 2002-2003 school year, $94,509 for the 2001-2002 school year and $89,849 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Principal Frank Wood will be paid $99,187, a 4.8 percent increase over the $94,644 he was paid last year. He was paid $89,712 for the 2002-2003 school year, $86,469 for the 2001-2002 school year and $82,273 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Principal Mark Eggers will be paid $83,064, an increase of 6.4 percent over the $78,068 he was paid last year. For the 2002-2003 school year, his first year as assistant principal, he was paid $74,000.
Salaries of Sperreng Middle School administrators for the 2004-2005 school year are:
Principal Robert Ayres will be paid $115,797, a 3 percent increase from the $112,424 he was paid last year. He was paid $107,842 for the 2002-2003 school year, $102,952 for the 2001-2002 school year and $96,940 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Principal Gail Hermann will be paid $92,775, a 2 percent increase from the $90,956 she was paid last year. She was paid $88,308 for the 2002-2003 school year, $84,708 for the 2001-2002 school year and $81,616 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Principal David Kew will be paid $78,444, a 4.4 percent increase from the $75,138 he was paid last year. He was paid $70,886 for the 2002-2003 school year, $66,716 for the 2001-2002 school year and $62,940 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Assistant Principal Sonya Ptah will be paid $91,028, a 2 percent increase from the $89,243 she was paid last year. For the 2002-2003 school year, she was paid $87,067. Ptah was paid $84,943 for the 2001-2002 school year as a high school assistant principal.
Salaries of elementary school administrators for the 2004-2005 school year are:
Kennerly Elementary Principal Steve Suess will be paid $114,855, a 4.4 percent increase from the $110,014 he was paid last year. Suess, who also serves as director of summer school, was paid $105,531 for the 2002-2003 school year, $101,229 for the 2001-2002 school year and $96,098 for the 2000-2001 school year.
Long Elementary Principal Brian McKenney, who begins his duties today — July 1 — will be paid $81,000. McKenney’s predecessor, Tracy Edwards, was paid $85,598 last year.
Sappington Elementary Principal Mary Hogan, who begins her duties today — July 1 — will be paid $86,115. Hogan previously served as an assistant principal at Lindbergh High School and was paid $82,171 last year. Her predecessor at Sappington Elementary, Sartorius, was paid $104,872 last year.
Crestwood Elementary Principal Scott Taylor will be paid $99,126, a 4.4 percent increase over the $94,948 he was paid last year. For the 2002-2003 school year, his first as principal, he was paid $90,000.
Truman Elementary School Principal Andrew Wright will be paid $84,480, a 5.6 percent increase over the $80,000 he was paid last year, his first as principal. He previously served as the school’s interim principal and assistant principal.
Truman Elementary Assistant Principal Laurie O’Leary will be paid $63,360, a 5.6 percent increase over the $60,000 she was paid last year, her first year as principal.