Vancouver Public Schools board members on Tuesday narrowly approved giving Superintendent Steve Webb a $6,000 annual raise, plus a $7,398.78 cost-of-living adjustment.
Webb’s new base salary is $222,960. Add in his 3 percent COLA, annuity and doctoral stipend, and his compensation totals $254,024.78 a year. That figure does not include any potential cash-outs of vacation, sick leave or flex days.
In his previous contract, Webb’s base salary was $216,960. In comparison, John Deeder, Superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools, had a base salary of $228,480.
Webb’s three-year contract retroactively began on July 1 and ends June 30, 2018.
Webb’s salary addendum was presented as part of the board’s consent agenda and was included in a 21-page document of salaries for all district employees. Consent agenda items are not discussed in detail, but are simply voted on by the school board.
Year: Base salary
2008-2009: $192,000
2009-2010: $192,000
2010-2011: $192,000
2011-2012: $190,769
2012-2013: $192,000
2013-2014: $216,960
2014-2015: $216,960
2015-2016: $222,960
Source: Vancouver Public Schools
Edri Geiger, board vice president, requested that Webb’s contract be pulled from the consent agenda and discussed publicly by the board.
“This year’s superintendent evaluation process was not acceptable,” Geiger said. “We did not use all available data.”
Then she added, “Dr. Webb is paid considerably more than the governor.”
In fact, Webb does make more than Gov. Jay Inslee, whose current salary is $166,891 a year. On Sept. 1, Inslee will get a raise and make $171,898 annually.
The board voted 3-2 to approve Webb’s contract. Board members Geiger and Kathy Gillespie voted against Webb’s raise and COLA, while board members Dale Rice, Mark Stoker and Nada Wheelock voted in favor of it.
Gillespie said she “had issues with the process this year.” She added that although the board had a majority, it did not have consensus. “I wish the board would strive for five (votes),” she said.
Gillespie also spoke against giving the superintendent a cost-of-living adjustment.
“I don’t think a COLA on a quarter-million salary is the same as our teachers or the people who work for $11 or $12 per hour,” Gillespie said. “The buying power of a $220,000 or $250,000 contract is a lot different than the buying power of a $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 salary.”
A few minutes later, she added: “I really think the COLA goes above and beyond what is reasonable. Our teachers and other employees went without a voter-approved COLA. Yet they continued to work.”
Geiger said, “It’s the taxpayers who support the schools. We’re hearing a lot from members in the community that their money’s not well spent.”
Rice argued in favor of Webb’s salary increase.
“It’s hard to find talented, capable leaders in this environment. In any environment,” Rice said. “I know we don’t want to drop down to mediocre. I don’t think the public will want that. We have national awards.”
Stoker added: “The three-year contract is reasonable. It’s competitive. From my perspective, the process has been just fine.”
In addition to the base salary with the COLA, Webb gets additional financial perks. Under Webb’s 2013-2014 contract, he received the following amounts annually: $22,000 for an annuity; $1,666.66 for having his doctorate degree; $29,181.60 in vacation cash-outs; $9,149.52 in flex-day cash-outs; $2,918.16 in sick leave cash-outs; and $1,050 for professional development, for a total compensation of $282,924.
“The board did not make any changes to the amounts of the annuity or doctoral stipend. They will remain the same as in 2013-14 and 2014-15,” district spokesman Tom Hagley wrote in an e-mail.
Vancouver Public Schools, the second-largest district in Clark County, has more than 23,000 students.
