RUMFORD — Directors of Regional School Unit 10 on Monday overwhelmingly approved 3% pay raises for four administrators for the 2021-22 school year.
RSU 10 Superintendent Deb Alden. Submitted photo.
They are Superintendent Deb Alden, Assistant Superintendent Leanne Condon, Business Manager Leah Kaulback and Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Peggy Collette.
Altogether, the total amount of the raises is an increase of $10,548 from this year’s budget, which ends June 30.
RSU 10 Assistant Superintendent Leanne Condon. Submitted photo.
Voting for the raises were Greg Buccina, Travis Palmer, Daniel Hodge and Abbey Rice, all of Rumford, Justeen LaPointe of Roxbury, Ashley Derouche, Peter DeFilipp and Janet Brennick, all of Mexico, Chad Culleton of Hartford, Gail Parent of Hanover and Jerry Wiley of Buckfield.
Charlie Maddaus of Sumner opposed the raises and Michelle Casey of Buckfield approved the raise for Alden but not the other three.
“I just can’t see my way clear to voting (for) 3% increases in a pandemic and recession,” Maddaus said. The board has not yet seen the proposed budget for 2021-22 and that was also a factor in his decision, he added.
Casey said in an email Tuesday that her vote for Alden’s raise was a mistake. She said attending the meeting via Zoom videoconference is sometimes distracting and that’s why she didn’t vote against Alden’s raise.
“I thought about asking to change my vote but really would have made no difference in the outcome,” Casey said.
DeFilipp of Mexico said his approval was based on an auditors’ report received by the Finance Committee on Monday.
RSU 10 Business Manager Leah Kaulback. Submitted photo.
RSU 10 Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Peggy Collette. Submitted photo
“One of the things they told us,” he said, “we were below average (statewide) in our administrative costs,” he said. “We were like 4.11% of our total budget, and we have a very minimal staff. I think we need to pay them a reasonable salary and make sure they stay here.”
In other business, the district reported 55 coronavirus cases among students from six schools from Sept. 8 to Feb. 12 and 24 cases among staff members occurred during that same time.
There was only one confirmed case that involved transmission of the virus between two people at Rumford Elementary School, Principal Jill Bartash said.
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