The Vineyard’s All-Island School Committee has approved a plan to advertise a new superintendent role at $75,000 for a one-year contract, despite some members’ concerns that the salary isn’t enough for a qualified individual. Superintendent Richie Smith said a one-year position could help the district pay more for a full-time, higher-salary assistant superintendent role afterward.
The hire is needed to replace John Stevens, currently serving as interim principal of the Edgartown School. Stevens has been in that position since Shelley Einbinder retired in April.
Smith also said that if school committees approve later on, he hopes to propose more money for the assistant superintendent role in the district’s budget, which residents vote on in the spring. He noted that this year’s budget already had a line item for $75,000 for the role.
Committee member Skip Manter pushed back against the $75,000 salary, calling it inappropriately low. Manter was the sole vote against advertising the role.
Member Mike Watts asked about the district’s succession plan. “For one year only at [$75,000], will we get the best applicants? … I really don’t want this to be a shoo-in step to the next place. If we’re looking for a full-time role for this, I want to make sure … we’re thinking to the long haul.”
Smith acknowledged the concerns, but stuck by the plan. “It would be probably preferred to have more,” he said, “but our budget will allow for [$75,000], and I feel pretty strongly that candidates that I feel will be applying will do a good job at [that amount].”
He also told members that if needed, the district could offer more money. “Beyond [$75,000], we’d have to get pretty creative. But if we find the right candidate, and that person can only come for a certain amount, we would certainly try,” he said.
Smith told The Times after the meeting that other significant costs in the district have limited the money available to offer for the role. “Our system has got a lot of needs going on, with capital projects and such,” he said. “I wanted to address those things, so we divided it out a bit, and used some of the money to take care of needs like Island-wide music. That is why it has gone from a full position to [$75,000].”
Smith also said after the meeting that he has altered the assistant superintendent position during his time in office. “When Matt D’Andrea was superintendent, [the assistant superintendent] was full-time,” Smith said. “Since I became superintendent, I chose to use that position for different needs.”
Superintendent Smith also told The Times that he hopes to talk to the school committee later on and propose full-scale pay for a longer-term assistant superintendent role. A full-scale salary in the district is currently set at $125,000. This full-pay proposal would first come before the school finance committee and school committees, before going to town meetings in the spring.
According to Smith, the goal is for the new assistant superintendent to start on Sept. 3. The district will look to advertise and fill the position sometime this summer, review candidates the first week of August, and interview candidates shortly after.
All-Island member Kristin Brown volunteered to join a hiring committee and sit in on interviews for the role.