BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) The Buffalo School Board took no action Wednesday night on raises for top district administrators. There was pushback from parents at the start of last night's meeting.
"How can we in any way, or form, think that people deserve a 20 or 30
thousand dollar a year raise? Many people don't make that (amount) at a regular job, said one man. "We could use that money for the white boards that don't work in many of the buildings, or how about getting the kids to school on time," he added.
School Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash has proposed raises of between 6% and 40% for 30 district administrators. The positions range from Chief Academic Officer to Associate Superintendent to Secretary for the Superintendent.
School Board President Lou Petrucci, on WBEN Thursday morning, said the board was not in a position to vote on the proposal last night.
"It was presented to us without enough or sufficient time to have a proper discussion." Secondly, he said the vote was put off due to the sheer sticker shock of many of the raises.
"It's Dr. Cash's cabinet. He needs to be able to make these moves in order to get the results that we ask of him. There wasn't time to vet them or have discussions." Petrucci added that many board members received comments from people in the community who felt resources would be better spent in the classroom, as opposed to going to administrators.
Dr. Cash has argued that the raises are necessary for the district to be competitive and stay on par with other districts.
"The path for promotion is good in Buffalo," said Petrucci. "You can live well in Buffalo on six figures. When you're trying to attract talent from outside the district, it sometimes can be a problem, simply because our compensation is less."
On the other hand, Petrucci said proposed raises amount to more than some bus aides and food service workers make in an entire year.
Is the district having difficulty attracting administrators? Petrucci says not to his knowledge. "It's actually been the exact opposite." Offering kudos to Dr. Cash, Petrucci said five individuals that were part of his administration, have gone on be superintendents in other districts. "That's a nice tribute to Buffalo, but it also leaves us without a deep bench and so we have to grow, and groom, a new batch."
Contrary to reports that funding for the raises would come from American Rescue Funds, Petrucci said that is not the case. "Presently we are under budget with respect to executive salaries and that's where it would come from.
The proposal for administrative raises will be back before the board on January 5, 2022.
