UPDATE:
The Shelton school district released the contract for new superintendent Freeman Burr Friday.
According to the document, Burr will get paid $145,000 for 2009-10 and $150,000 for 2010-11.
The contract was signed last week after weeks of negotiations between the board and Burr. Board Chairman Win Oppel was directed by the Board of Education to iron out the final details and was authorized to sign the contract, he said.
While Oppel shared details about the contract Tuesday, the district declined to release a copy of the contract, saying it is a personnel matter and is not public in its entirety.
The Valley Independent Sentinel has filed a Freedom of Information request for the full contract, which is deemed public according to the state Freedom of Information Commission. Friday, the district forwarded a copy of the contract to the Sentinel.
Shelton Superintendent Contract Part of the contract outlines plans to conduct a review every six months, Oppel said. Within the next couple of weeks the Board of Education and Burr will outline goals and benchmarks Burr will have during his tenure.
Based on how he works toward those goals, the Board of Education can approve an additional payment to Burr of up to $10,000, Oppel said.
“I don’t like the word bonus,” to describe the potential extra pay, Oppel said. “I use the words ‘incentive compensation.’”
Oppel said he can’t say for sure what the goals would be, but said general district goals include improving student achievement through test scores and increasing college attendance.
“The board will sit down with Mr. Burr and create a list of goals his tenure can measure against,” Oppel said. “You have to be fair.”
Oppel said it was the first time Shelton schools offered “incentive compensation” to its superintendent.
“It is something we are seeing more and more, where people are tying specific successes to remuneration,” Oppel said. “And we felt this was a step we wanted to take.”
According to Oppel, other items in Burr’s contract include:
- 24 vacation days
- 18 sick days, accumulating at 1.5 days per month and maxing out at 260 days
- Up to $4,500 a year in tuition reimbursement
- Up to $500 a month in automobile expense reimbursement
- Medical benefit package similar to other administrators in the district
- Life Insurance Police
