Director Pay Freeze Detoured in District 197

A move to eliminate performance payments among District 197 directors may have been too hasty, according to discussion at the school board meeting May 16.

Superintendent Jay Haugen presented a contract settlement agreement May 16 reflecting made at the beginning of April.

The agreement freezes director salaries through 2014. Instead of receiving the incentives, half of the potential pay-for-performance allotment would instead be worked into directors’ permanent salaries and the rest would be done away with.

The agreement also puts the human resources director’s salary on par with that of other directors, a previous board recommendation.

In addition, the agreement stipulates that should the West St. Paul Principals’ Association negotiate improved salary schedules or premium contributions that those benefits apply to the directors as well.

Haugen said the plan has been OK’d by those affected by the freeze: directors of business services, curriculum and staff development, special programs, human resources, and the chief marketing and communications officer.

“They’re willing to go out three years on that contract, it’s like locking down an house payment at an incredibly low rate,” said Haugen.

The savings of a freeze on directors was cited April 4 to be about $22,000.

However, deciding to remove pay-for-performance was “very, very careless on our part,” said board member Dewayne Dill.

Board member Mark Spurr said that “in the context of Monday morning quarterbacking” he might have made a different decision.

The agreement will instead be brought to the personnel committee for review. Personnel will make a recommendation on how to proceed.

Haugen said that some research indicates that money is not an effective motivator, and in some cases, it’s a disincentive. Haugen also said that the incentive payments are viewed as raises by the public.

“There seems to be more downside than upside in the end,” said Haugen, “even though I understand what pay-for-performance is all about.”