In a 6-3 vote Thursday night, the Pleasant Valley School Board approved the new five-year contract for Superintendent James Konrad.

The contract provides an initial salary of $218,000.

The three no votes were cast by John Gesiskie, Denise Hopely and Janet Dooner.

Gesiskie restated his concerns about low achievement test scores as being one of his reasons for voting no.

Evaluation tests such as the Keystone exams for 11th-grade students, and the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams for grades 3 to 8 in English language arts and mathematics and grades 5 to 8 for science have shown some results below state proficiency levels.

Both Hopely and Dooner expressed concerns for the taxpayers in covering the cost.

Dooner said she feels that she looked at the demographics of the community in weighing her decision.

“If you look at the Monroe County’s Economic Development Corporation’s report, it does say that Monroe County overall we’re still at $53,000 median average income. I do suspect that our West End is a little bit lower,” Dooner said.

Taxpayers?

She questioned if the taxpayers could support the raise.

“I know that Dr. Konrad’s salary increases are only a tiny portion of the higher budget; however, the increase that goes from the past average increases of about $6,500 a year, this one is almost triple to that and I just want to be conscience of that as a board member,” Dooner said.

“And I think it is our responsibility to be conservative if not reducing spending where we can.”

Some of the reasons expressed by school board directors for supporting the contract was the cost of replacing Konrad if he would decide to leave and providing stability in the district’s leadership.

The school district had been experiencing several turnovers in its leadership just prior to Konrad taking the job in December 2021. His new contract will begin on July 1 and runs through to June 30, 2031.

School board President Sue Kresge recapped all that Konrad has done since becoming the superintendent and that his new salary is the lowest in the Monroe County.

“Stability in leadership is not just beneficial; it is essential. It allows us to maintain the momentum on long-term initiatives, support our educators, and continuing improving the student experience,” Kresge said. “Renewing this contract ensures that the progress we’ve made doesn’t stall and that we can continue to build on a strong foundation.

“I also want to acknowledge that while board members may bring different perspectives we all share the same goal — doing what is best for Pleasant Valley.

“Supporting this contract is in my view a step toward continued stability, consistency and forward movement for our district. I am confident in the superintendent’s ability to lead us through the next phase of our work.”

Konrad will receive an annual base salary increase of 3%, as long as his performance evaluation by the school board is deemed as at least proficient/satisfactory.

Evaluations

If the school board’s evaluation is determined to be distinguished, his base salary increase would be 4%. If his performance evaluation comes back as needs improvement or unsatisfactory/failing, then his salary is frozen at that year’s level, according to the contract.

The school board would then be required to review his performance again at midyear to determine if his performance has increased and a salary increase is warranted.

The contract also states that the school board has the right to increase Konrad’s salary “at its sole discretion, over and above the increases noted under this section.”

Those increases could consist of a bonus or additional money added to his base salary.

In addition to this compensation, Konrad will be given two longevity bonuses of $2,000 each paid directly to his 403(b) retirement plan. The first longevity bonus will be awarded if he remains employed as the superintendent as of Jan. 1, 2028. The second bonus will be awarded if his employment continues at least to Jan. 1, 2030.

The contract states that the reason for this agreement is to “enhance administrative stability and continuity within the district, which the board believes generally improves the quality of its overall educational program.”

The contract states that Konrad’s performance evaluations will be done annually on or before June 30 in an executive session of the board, unless both the board and Konrad agree on a different date for the evaluation meeting. The board will provide a written annual evaluation to him.

The contract also states that the performance of mutually agreed-upon objectives will be made public on the district’s website each year.

As for benefits, Konrad is eligible for all fringe benefits available to administrators.

If he waives the health care benefits for himself, his spouse and dependents, then he will receive a monthly payment of $500 directly paid to his 403(b) retirement plan.