School Board OKs New Berkley Superintendent's Contract

The Berkley Board of Education on Monday night approved a three-year contract for that also allows raises for nearly a dozen other district employees and nets the district a small savings.

McDavid's contract includes a base salary of $158,000 a year, an annuity of $10,000, tuition reimbursement for one class toward doctorate degree per semester and a doctoral differential of $5,000 a year.

McDavid, the district's director of schools and human resources, will on July 1. McDavid volunteered to give up some of the base salary the district was prepared to offer him to allow for $1,000 a year increases in base salary for 10 board office staff members, according to Lawrence J. Gallagher, deputy superintendent of Finance, Facilities and Operations. 

McDavid downplayed his action, preferring to focus on the tasks at hand. "It's a small gesture," he said. "It's not really enough for all the work they do."

McDavid said he's "looking forward to continuing to work with a great team ... figuring out ways to better serve students."

The raises come at "no incremental cost (in fact there’s a modest savings) to the district’s budget due to the redirecting of these budgeted dollars from superintendent compensation," Gallagher wrote in a memo to the school board.

As part of the proposal, Mary Beth Fitzpatrick, director of Curriculum, Technology, Assessment and Grants, will get a salary increase to $127,000 from her current base of $120,268 and a title change to assistant superintendent. "Duties and expectations of her position have grown significantly over the past few years and her title has not accurately reflected her critical contributions to our school community, nor has her compensation been adjusted to accurately reflect her contributions and value," Gallagher wrote. 

During the process of negotiating the contract, board members had agreed upon a higher base salary than eventually agreed upon, supported by superintendent salaries within the county and of comparable districts as well as reflective of the talents McDavid brings to the superintendent’s position, Gallagher reported to the board.

"The board welcomed and very much appreciated Mr. McDavid's action," Board of Education President Paul Ellison wrote in an email to Berkley Patch.

District employees who will receive a $1,000 a year raise starting the next school year are:

• Business Office: Debbie Goodcourage and Susan Monaghan 
• Technology Department: Rose Gavrilovska and Scott Vollhardt
• Human Resources: Lara Overy
• Contracted Service: Rod Fisher, Jackie Hopkins, Jeff Montgomery and Ruth Moore
• Superintendent’s Office: Lori Suarez