Fiscal Irresponsibility and Betrayal of Trust by our School Board Lucrative Contract for our Superintendent   A review of Dr. Jones’ new contract has revealed that it is not merely an “extension” of her old contract as we were led to believe by the School Board.  The recently executed 4 year contract between the School Board and Dr. Jones makes her salary at least one of the top 5 in the entire State and probably makes her the highest paid Superintendent on a per-student basis in the State.  In addition to that, her contract was executed by the School Board in a way that betrayed the trust of Great Valley residents and further continues the Board’s pattern of fiscal irresponsibility.    Dr. Jones’ Salary (NOT including bonus or benefits) $229,851 (2008) $236,522 (2009) $243,392 (2010) $250,468 (2011) $257,757 (2012) $1,217,990 (2008 - 2012)     A copy of Dr. Jones' new contract was obtained through a Pennsylvania Right to Know Law request to the District.  A summary of her yearly salary and benefits under this new contract and a link to the actual contract are included in the following narrative.  To express your opinion regarding this contract, you may select the "Contact Board Members" button on this website to send an email to each member of the School Board.    THE CONTROVERSIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ON 9/17/07 In the September 4, 2007 Board working session where regular business meeting agendas are established, there was no mention of Jones’ contract on the published agenda for 9/17/07. Over the following 2 weeks, despite requests for an update, the public was told that the contract would not be discussed. On Friday, Sept 14, 2007 without any public announcement, the School Board updated the GVSD website stating that a 4 year contract "extension" for Dr. Jones would be on the agenda for Monday’s meeting. Despite providing such little notice and scheduling the meeting during a “Monday Night Football” appearance by the Philadelphia Eagles, over 150 taxpayers attended to voice their disapproval of this extension.  Dozens of people spoke in opposition to the contract, citing the extremely high salary and the lack of academic progress to justify a new contract and the high salary. Many of the taxpayers simply wanted the Board to “table the decision” and allow for further public comment and input before making such a significant decision.  The new contract did not go into effect for nearly one year – what was the rush?  The President of the Board, Susanne Carr, stated that a quick decision was needed because there were significant issues that needed to be addressed in the District and there was a need for continuity of leadership to address these issues. Ms. Carr stated that the vote could not wait for the seating of newly elected Board members.    Despite the groundswell of opposition to the contract and requests to delay the vote, the Board went ahead with the vote and decided 5 to 4 to “extend” the contract for 4 more years.  No details of the contract were given at the meeting.  In addition, no contract details have ever been released by the School Board to the public. The recorded minutes of the September 17, 2007 Board meeting were later obtained, and it was found that the contract was not attached to the minutes and there were no details of the contract in the minutes.     Voted FOR the contract:   Susanne Carr (president) Elizabeth McGarrigle Kathy Pettiss Kevin McTear Melanie Scott (no longer on Board)   Voted AGAINST the contract:   Nick Vastardis (Vice President) Gene Kozik Salwa Raven (no longer on Board) Ralph Tang         A VERY LUCRATIVE CONTRACT  A close examination of the 15 page contract reveals that the new contract is not merely an “extension” of the old contract as stated by the Board.  It contains, among many other benefits, the following new provisions:  The provision for a bonus each year  A $25,000 deposit each year into a retirement fund for her Additionally, along with many pages of benefits, it contains: Three (3) separate clauses for deferred salary above and beyond her base salary A leased car with all expenses paid Many retirement benefits beyond the standard PA retirement The analysis of the information available indicates that Dr. Jones’ salary is at least one of the Top 5 in the State and is probably the highest salary in the State on a per-student basis.       COMPARING DR. JONES' CONTRACT TO OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA   The following spreadsheet is a comparison of our Superintendent’s salary and salary-per-student with other Districts in our region, other similar-in-size Districts, and Districts with large student populations, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.  The spreadsheet is sorted by salary dollars per student, with Great Valley at the top as the most expensive.     The data for this spreadsheet came from Dr. Jones’ contract and a review of other Superintendent’s contracts that are contained in the website of the Altoona Mirror newspaper: http://extras.altoonamirror.com/schools/     We encourage you to search this website on your own to see what other Superintendents are paid.  You will find that not only is our Superintendent paid more than almost everyone else, but you will find that her contract contains many more salary and benefit clauses.   Most of the Pennsylvania Superintendent’s contracts are provided by the newspaper, except for a few Districts that did not reply or did not have a Superintendent at the time of the request.  Every effort was made to be as accurate as possible with the data on the spreadsheet, including the calculation of cost of living increases.  Some of the listed salaries may not be accurate to the dollar due to the variances in cost of living clauses, but they are close enough for comparison purposes.

District Superintendent Students Salary Total Salary (Incl Deferred) $/Student Great Valley Rita Jones          4,019 $203,992 $229,851 $57.19 Wallingfrd-Swarthmore Rudolph C. Rubeis          3,578 $180,000 $192,000 $53.66 Upper Merion Melissa Jamula          3,590 $180,000 $180,000 $50.14 Upper Moreland Robert Milrod          3,130 $153,700 $153,700 $49.11 Garnet Valley Anthony Costello          4,600 $220,505 $220,505 $47.94 Unionville-Chadds Ford Sharon E. Parker          4,093 $192,000 $192,000 $46.91 Phoenixville David R. Noyes          3,278 $146,780 $146,780 $44.78 Kennett Consolidated  Rudolph F. Karkosak          4,099 $163,000 $163,000 $39.77 Rose Tree Media Denise C. Kerr          3,897 $148,000 $153,000 $39.26 Owen J. Roberts Myra Forrest          4,606 $145,000 $164,500 $35.71 Avon Grove Augustus J. Massaro          5,382 $167,500 $182,500 $33.91 Lower Merion Jamie Savedoff          6,936 $210,000 $232,000 $33.45 William Penn Dana T. Bedden          5,431 $158,000 $163,000 $30.01 Mount Lebanon John Allison          5,429 $150,000 $160,000 $29.47 Westchester Area Alan G. Elko        11,773 $225,000 $254,000 $21.57 Downingtown Sandra Griffin        11,600 $193,300 $221,300 $19.08 Upper Darby Joseph A. Galli        12,293 $179,200 $179,200 $14.58 Pittsburg Area Mark Roosevelt        29,434 $195,000 $195,000 $6.62 Philadelphia City Thomas Brady       107,450 $186,000 $199,020 $1.85

CONDUCT OF SCHOOL BOARD RAISES CONCERNS How could our School Board even consider a contract of this magnitude in a District with only 4,000 students? One can only conclude that the reason the Board pushed for Jones’ contract in September was to ensure a favorable vote before the majority of the Board changed, knowing that the new Board members would never support such a lucrative contract. The Board as a whole and specifically, Board members Carr, McGarrigle, Pettiss, Scott, and McTear betrayed the trust we put in them as elected officials and displayed a lack of fiscal responsibility by voting for this contract.  This decision by the board continues a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility which makes it easy to see why the District budget has increased 56% and our taxes have increased 42% in 6 years. REQUESTS TO THE BOARD:    Renegotiate a new contract with Dr. Jones that will reduce her compensation and benefits to a realistic level. Provide a complete report regarding the events in September which led to the creation and vote for this inflated contract. Why was the contract vote not scheduled until days before the meeting? Who wrote the contract? Who represented the Board in the negotiations? Who represented the Superintendent in the negotiations? Did every member of the Board read the new contract before the vote? Why weren’t all the contract details available to the public before the vote?       THE CONTRACT *   Since the Superintendent’s contract is quite complex, the salary, benefits, and retirement benefits are summarized here.      If you would like to see the actual contract you may click on this link:   Jones Contract (PDF file)    SALARY   Current base salary (2007/2008) is $203,992 Base Salary will increase 3% each year and will result in the following: 2008/2009 = $210,112 2009/2010 = $216,415 2010/2011 = $222,907 2011/2012 = $229,594   In addition, a 2% of salary contribution will be made each year to a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program.  This will be credited as salary for purposes of computing the retirement pension under the Pennsylvania Public Schools Employees Retirement System (PSERS).  This results in the following deferred compensation: 2007/2008 = $4,080 (current contract) 2008/2009 = $4,202 2009/2010 = $4,328 2010/2011 = $4,458 2011/2012 = $4,592   In addition, a $7,500 contribution will be made each year to a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program.  This will be credited as salary for purposes of computing the retirement pension under PSERS.  This results in the following deferred compensation: 2007/2008 = $7,500 (current contract-money in an annuity) 2008/2009 = $7,500 2009/2010 = $7,500 2010/2011 = $7,500 2011/2012 = $7,500   In addition, a 7% of salary contribution will be made each year to a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program.  This will be credited as salary for purposes of computing the retirement pension under PSERS.  This results in the following deferred compensation. 2007/2008 = $14,279 (current contract-money goes to 403(b)) 2008/2009 = $14,708 2009/2010 = $15,149 2010/2011 = $15,603 2011/2012 = $16,071     If total contributions to the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program exceed the allowable IRS amounts, the balance will be paid in salary that year.   In addition, the new contract provides for a BONUS of an undisclosed amount for each year at the discretion of the School Board.   All of the above results in a total salary/compensation, without consideration of the potential Bonus, of the following: 2007/2008 = $229,851 2008/2009 = $236,522 2009/2010 = $243,392 2010/2011 = $250,468 2011/2012 = $257,757  BENEFITS   10 Paid Holidays Fees and travel expenses will be paid and time off granted for any professional growth activities Yearly medical exam at no cost Term Life Insurance equal to 3 times the salary at no cost 15 days of Sick Leave that will accumulate without limit each year 30 days of Vacation Leave which will accumulate without limit each year Beginning in 2008/2009, an annual contribution of $25,000 will be made to a 403(b) Retirement Account Paid Sabbatical Leaves of absence will be given under terms of the Pennsylvania School Code Medical Insurance at a cost of only $315 to $835 per year (approximately 7% of the total premium paid by the District) Dental Insurance at no cost Vision Insurance at no cost Prescription Drug Insurance at no cost Long Term Disability Insurance at no cost Long Term Care Insurance at no cost Reimbursement of $2,000 for medical out-of-pocket expenses.  This can go up to $3,500 if all administrators do not use their designated $2,000. A leased car, with a leased value not to exceed $459 per month, with all fuel, repairs, maintenance, and insurance expenses paid. (Lease increases each year with CPI increase)  ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS    In addition to the pension received from the Pennsylvania Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS), the Superintendent will receive the following benefits at retirement:   At retirement, the Superintendent will receive payment equal to one-half the cost of the premiums for the term life insurance policy in place at that time for the years up to age 72. If the Superintendent forgoes her entitlement to Sabbatical Leave on the eligible years, she shall be eligible for severance pay equal to 50% of her final annual salary at retirement.  If she retires without taking the Sabbatical leave, she will be entitled to receive a Supplemental Retirement Benefit equal to the value of the unused Sabbatical Leave. At the time of retirement, the District shall pay the premiums for all health insurance in force at the time of her retirement until the age of 72 or a period of 12 years whichever is longer. At the time of retirement, the computer and the associated equipment that the Superintendent is using will be given to her, at no cost. If at retirement, the total value of the Supplemental Retirement Benefits payable to the Superintendent exceeds $250,000, the excess will be paid in cash.    *All information was taken from documents received from the Great Valley School District as a result of a Pennsylvania Right to Know Law request.  The salary figures are taken from these documents.  The description of the benefits is as accurate as possible given the need to summarize and the complex nature of the Superintendent’s Contracts and Compensation/Benefits Plan.       (Feb. 2008)