Gary’s first school superintendent since 2017 has been offered a three-year contract with a proposed annual salary of $215,000.
The school board and the new superintendent recently agreed on the contract terms, which include academic, financial and enrollment incentives.
The board will consider public input at a 5 p.m. hearing on May 30 at the Gary Area Career Center 1800 E. 35th Ave.
The identity of the new school leader has not been released.
The new superintendent comes into the job with challenging expectations to keep finances solvent while raising academic performance in the urban district of about 4,100 students.
About 6,000 students are spread across seven charter schools in the city.
The new superintendent is expected to begin work July 1, with slightly more than a month on the job before school starts.
The school board began its superintendent search in January and reduced the field recently to three finalists. The search drew 38 candidates.
In 2017, the school district’s distressed financial status triggered a state takeover and elimination of its elected school board and superintendent. Meanwhile, the state hired MGT Consulting, a Florida-based private education management firm, to run the district with an emergency manager at the helm.
Last year, as the district’s finances stabilized, the General Assembly passed a new law installing an appointed school board.
The board’s sole governing authority was to conduct a search and hire a new superintendent while holding monthly public meetings with MGT manager Mike Raisor.
By July 1, the school board is expected to gain full governing authority.
The contract calls for the superintendent to receive annual raises equal to teachers, but not to exceed 2.5%.
Bonuses can be awarded by the school board up to $5,000 each for academic improvement, financial and operational leadership and enrollment increases.
The superintendent will also receive a fully paid insurance package with long-and-short term disability coverage. The superintendent can elect to receive a life insurance policy with a death limit not to exceed $400,000.
The board agreed to reimburse the superintendent for moving expenses up to a maximum of $10,000.
The contract also provides transition pay prior to the July 1 start date. The per diem rate is $893 a day.
The public notice stated the contract will be published on the school district’s website, per state law.
The new superintendent could also be faced with Bailly STEM Academy and Gary Middle Schools, based on low enrollment.
Raisor proposed closing the two schools last year and shifting students to the West Side Leadership Academy. He backed away from the plan, citing improved finances and the desire to leave the decision to a new school leader.
The superintendent also will likely head a campaign for the renewal of the district’s $72.1 million property tax referendum to sustain finances.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
