Dr. Donald Schlomann will retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year, according to an amended contract for the superintendent of St. Charles Community Unit School District 303.
The Board of Education approved the contract changes during a special meeting Monday night, and Dr. Schlomann signed it Tuesday morning, school officials said.
Board of Education President Steven Spurling said Tuesday evening the board’s approval of the contract amendments reflect its satisfaction with Schlomann’s performance as superintendent. “We’re very happy with Dr. Schlomann’s leadership,” he said.
Under the terms of the contract, Schlomann's base pay remains where it was when the district hired him as superintendent in 2009 — at $225,000. As part of the changes, beginning in 2013-14, the district will pay a 6 percent retirement incentive annuity for each of his final four years with the district. The retirement annuity is separate from the Illinois Teacher Retirement System.
The 6 percent retirement incentive annuity is a change in the pattern Schlomann set beginning in 2009, when he began to decline annual pay raises due him under his contract, a move he said reflected his respect for the sacrifices the community and the school district and its employees were making during belt-tightening years as revenues dropped.
His refusal to accept the contractual pay increases was respected by many in the district.
He called the retirement incentive annuity payments as very generous.
Spurling said the 6 percent retirement incentive annuity is the district’s “law of the land” in terms of retirement announcements. By contract, he said, all teachers and administrators receive the same treatment in the four years leading up to their retirement.
Also under the amended, beginning in July 2014, the district will give Schlomann one additional vacation day each year through 2016. He has 22 vacation days per year now.
Schlomann’s other contract terms — including health care coverage, a $7,200 annual car allowance, travel expenses, professional/civic organization fees and professional development, and cellphone — remain unchanged.
“It feels odd to be talking about retiring,” Schlomann said Monday afternoon. By 2017, he will have been with the district for 10 years. Still, 2017 is a long way off yet.
“This gives the district a good planning horizon to begin the searching to find my successor,” he said.
You can download a pdf of the superintendent’s new contract at
http://www1.d303.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=wZtfkSdcWaw%3d&tabid=2854.
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First, the personal attacks must stop. If you want to criticize the contract, the board's decision, etc., that's OK. But Patch's terms of service bar personal attacks. Second, in terms of the retirement annuity, I learned this evening this is the standard for all teachers and administrators in the district who announce their retirement -- 6 percent for four years. Schlomann's annuity is not tied to the Illinois Teacher Retirement System, however.
By comparison, Dr. Schlomann’s pay likely is not as much as he would be making in the private sector working as the CEO of a corporation that is similar in size and revenue to District 303. Also, if he were in the private sector, he might even expect to have a “golden umbrella” as part of a severance plan or stock options for retirement. Perhaps the sticking point here is not so much what Dr. Schlomann’s compensation and benefits are as it is the perception that government employees are better taken care of by their employers than the everyman/woman working regular jobs in the private sector. I know that does not set well with a lot of people.
Also, considering the size of our district (small in my opinion) the salary given by the board seems excessive. All in all, the sad thing is that the Board will most likely repeat these actions in 2017. Why? Because that's the way we've always done it.
"According to the ISBE, the annual salary data reported to them is the same as the "total creditable earnings" reported to the Teachers Retirement System. It includes, among other things, extra-duty pay (coaching, clubs, etc.), board-paid retirement contributions, vacation and sick day buyouts, bonuses, and other compensation that the Teachers Retirement System includes in total creditable earnings. This salary data does not include the cost of employer-paid health insurance. Individual school district contracts should be consulted for details."