Revised: Corrects which board member advocated for diversity training.
By Julianne Besznyak, Correspondent, The Times
EAST MARLBOROUGH — Monday night’s Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education was largely focused on filling openings — and extending the contract of the current superintendent of schools.
Before the regular meeting began, four candidates to fill the Region B Board Member vacancy — created when Michael Rock abruptly resigned his seat earlier this month — were publically interviewed. The candidates for the open position are Scott Bosch, Robert Smith, Lisa Tascione and Tom Day. A debate and vote on the candidates will take place at the February meeting.
The board approved the resignation of district superintendent Dr. John Sanville and then approved the resolution to elect Sanville as district Superintendent for a new term of five years, beginning on January 24, 2017 and ending on January 23, 2022.
The reasons for Sanville’s new deal: back in October, 2016, it came to the board’s attention that Dr. Sanville was being aggressively pursued by a nearby district.
School Board President Victor Dupuis said that in comparing Sanville’s compensation with other superintendents in Chester County it was determined that Sanville was in the bottom third in salary and near the bottom in total compensation. The new contract will result in a 15.4% pay increase for Sanville.
Tom Drake of East Marlborough voiced his disagreement with Sanville’s pay increase and Amy Baram of Pocopson said she was concerned that the board did not allow adequate time for community to comment on the matter.
Ken Batchelor attended his last school board meeting as Assistant to the Superintendent. Batchelor has taken a position as Superintendent in Radnor. The board thanked Batchelor for his service and wished him well with his new position. The board approved the appointment of John Nolen — who had been Director of Curriculum — as District Assistant Superintendent for a term of five years, beginning on January 24, 2017 and ending on January 23, 2022.
In other matters, district resident Dell Joshi stepped forward to comment about his positive experiences when approaching the administration to discuss incidences of intimidation that either his children or his neighbor’s children have experienced. He commented that he was very satisfied with the quick response that he received from school staff and Administration. A high school student stepped forward to explain her difficulty in getting Administration to help her to stop a fellow student who was harassing her on social media.
Board member Robert Sage said that the district has the right policies and anti-bullying program in place and that it was not necessary to react to national election results. Board member Gregg Lindner discussed the possibility of the board attending diversity training in the future, and offer suggestions as to which groups might offer such training to the board.
Beyond the normal, routine business an independent auditors report was presented by Michael Mood, of BBD LLP. Details of the audit can be found on the district website.
Other items on the agenda included the School Calendar for 2017-2018 which was voted on and ultimately approved. The World Language Exchange to Costa Rica for the Summer of 2017 was approved and Plan Con Part K, required after the recent bond refinancing of the high school project, was approved.
A decision about approving the design phase for the challenge course — the rope course that would part of a leadership curriculum addition in the high school physical education department was tabled, as board members cited a need for more information.
The move by the board is suspect. I understand that negotiations have been going on for a while but to present it to the public this way, appears crooked. The board even said that if they had given information sooner there would be the same result. The public doesn’t have a say. Radnar is getting a good person for superintendent. Was an offer made to Mr Batchelor, excuse the spelling. Mr Sanville is respected, I get it. Everyone can be replaced. I know I have come across employees that say they are being pursued and it really wasn’t true. The board should have presented this better. This increase does not seem justified.
Well, Sandy, give us some names if you want to appear credible. Don’t use the “it’s private” excuse. The names of all PA teachers, their place of employment and their salaries are public records. Give us the facts; not alternative facts.
Just one comment….while Mr. Knauss may not know one teacher who has left for a teaching position in another neighboring district, teachers have left UCFSD to go to neighboring districts. And yes, sometimes for more money, believe it or not. Sometimes it’s been for different working conditions. Sometimes it’s for geographic reasons. They are the facts.
Mr. Knauss,
You did not respond to my first concern. Why did it happen so quickly without public input? Were they afraid of a public outcry? I suspect that is true because I understand that in the hours leading up to the vote, the board was flooded with emails and calls opposing the approval of the raise.
I agree that Dr. Sanville is an asset to the district but the decision affects all taxpayers. Where do we draw the line on compensation? What if the other district offered to double his salary? Will the board members simply fold their hands? What would you tell members of the community who were affected by the downsizing and layoffs at Astra Zeneca, DuPont, Exelon, Bank of America and many others?
Whether the board’s action was reasonable or not, there is a great danger that the public will not see it as such. I believe their actions Monday night has damaged Dr. Sanville’s reputation in the district and makes the board appear to have meekly given in to his demands.
I agree that UCF is not Wall Street. Let’s not act like it is.
Well, Mr. Do, I think we can agree we’re not on Wall Street and we’re not talking about a CEO. We’re right here in Unionville Chadds Ford talking about the superintendent’s compensation. Forget the slogans about “leav[ing] the average worker behind” and get specific. What would you have done? No raise? A 5% raise? And what would you tell the community after he left for that nearby district that was actively recruiting him?
Mr. Knauss,
Your argument is the same one used by Wall Street and businesses to pay exorbitant compensation for CEOs and leave the average workers behind.
Mr Do has lost track of how employee compensation is determined. Mr. Do seems to think that all employees should get “lock step” increases – if Sanville gets a big increase then all employees should get a big increase. Nonsense. The board correctly looked at two market indicators. One, the board looked at “comparables” and determined that Sanville’s compensation was in the bottom third of other Chester County supervisor comensation. Two, the board looked at their ability to “attract and retain” and recognized Sanville was being recruited by another district with a promise of a significantly higher salary. Hence, the market is saying “pay him the going rate or lose him”. These same two market indicators tell a different story for teachers. Our teachers are paid well compared to other Chester County teachers and I know of not one teacher that has left for a teaching position in another neighboring district. Hence, the market is saying our excellent, dedicated teachers are fairly compensated.
It is a really bad decision by the UCFSD School Board Directors to grant a large increase to John Sanville for the following reasons:
1) The board approved the increase without public input. Where’s the transparency?
2) The board members who advocated for the big raise are the same one who wanted to cut school budget, raise activity fees, and outsource personnel and services.
3) The school board has boxed itself in for the next round of negotiations with support staff and teachers with such a large increase for the superintendent.
4) The board has potentially damaged Dr. Sanville in the eyes of the taxpayers and the staff. Just look at the optics, the UCFSD staff and teachers were fighting just to get a small 2 to 3 percent salary increase and the superintendent receives a 15 to 20 percent raise.
Hai Do
Pennsbury Township