Birks Gets Three Years

There goes the money for more guidance counselors. >poof<

I thought NHPS had a wonderful lawyer negotiate this contract. What exactly did the city get in return for all of these concessions?

Mayor Harp is mistaken. The process of holding this Board and District accountable to its "Kids First" mission is just getting started. Join us by emailing [email protected].

No one should make this salary. Way to go, Harp's Henchmen. Bloat an unwanted employee's salary amidst disappearing affordable housing and intense food insecurity. Children live homeless while we pay out an ABSURD number to run our schools? If she was half of a good person with the right heart for this job, she'd restructure her own salary and hire a social worker and a nurse.

last week:

"We know that there are a lot of needs out there, but at the same time, the money is not flowing," [Mayo] said, pointing out that the state's rocky finances mean the school district won't be seeing any influx of funds. "We are doing, with the resources that we have, the best we can at this time."

Clark echoed him, saying that there's much more he'd do if he had more money. "More resources are needed in a number of areas to support all students in reaching their fullest potential," he said, but "within the context of the current budget realities with the state and federal government, it is clear that districts will continue to need to do more with less."

This is a great day for the city, a great day for the BOE, a great day for Mrs. C. Birks and above all, a great day for the students.

250K?!

That's a lot of Hamiltons!

I hope the new year brings out the best in ALL of us. I do not think Che Dawson flipped his position, but has always been acting in the best interest of the schools over his personal politics. Birks was not his first choice but now since the board has voted to support her appointment - it is clear to move forward a contract was needed. We should all be this thoughtful in our decisions. The motion read by Cotto and seconded by Goldson, does seem to be based on fear of antics and not on mutual professional respect for ALL board members. The meeting was not well attended because notification was not sent out in a timely efficient way. We are on the same team and the students of New Haven must be our focus. Let's keep fighting for the cause- not with each other.

My bet is that the compensation the City will pay for a superintendent over the next three years will be nearly double her salary. She is going to be hounded out in no time regardless of whether she is doing a good job. She will receive the balance of her 3 year pay package and then of course the City will have to pay her replacement. It states the obvious to observe that the fights on the Board have nothing to do with education and will continue. Thank goodness we now have a (partially) elected school board. Unless she has developed a devotion to our fair City apart from her employment, my recommendation to her would be "rent and don't fret about unpacking those boxes."

$245,000. A $52,000 raise from what Harries was paid in 2014.

I could understand the contract if you were bringing in a clear cut super star. But while I have nothing against Birks and hope she does a wonderful job, she is unproven and wasn't exactly a unanimous selection. Why not bring her in at something similar to what Harries was paid, and if she does a great job, then up the salary in the 2nd and 3rd years?

The fact they just give away an extra $52,000 with the budget crisis taking place both in the state and in New Haven really indicates how out of touch they are. Its infuriating.

Please don't point to what they make in Hartford and Bridgeport. There's no requirement to match those cities unless there were a candidate that we were competing with them for. (And those school systems aren't exactly role models for us to follow).

Harp of course approved it, because it makes her case for asking for a raise stronger. She can say, "look what the superintendent is making". In the case of her request for a raise, I feel the job of mayor does warrant a modest raise, but her timing was just awful. You just wish to have leaders who "get it", its so disappointing when they don't.

I don't mind $250,000 annual -- she needs to get paid. But we will hold her accountable. That's a promise. And no, it will not be a good excuse that you just didn't get the resources.

I can understand why Cotto and Goldson would collaborate on such a protective motion given the vitriol that transpired at the last meeting. However, I would've rather they waited to see [if] what they thought was going to occur, occurred first. Certainly Ed can see the writing on the wall and thus, enable him to display a level of decency and act accordingly. Give the brother some credit. (Chuckle)

To the nihilist that refuse to let go of the reality that Mrs. Birks is here to stay as superintendent (well, for at least three years anyway), it's time to move on.

To the haters out there who are now whining about the contents in her contract, in my view, the amount of money she's to receive to educate our children is more than worth the investment.

The only question I have for Superintendent Birks is, what can I do to help you help our children succeed?

This is a perfect example of how inadequate reporting leads to ill informed comments. The facts are that Harries started at $193,000 + a 12% annuity, which added an additional $23,160 to his salary, a total of $216,160. Each year his salary increased by 2%, his annuity increased of his salary increased to 14% the next year, 16% the year after that, and 18% the final year of his contract. He was making well over $275,000 when he left. That is $40,000 more than Birks is starting, with far less experience or credentials. Also, this board was smart to not only get a good deal on the salary, but they also only included a 2% annuity ($10,000), starting at less than half of Harries ($23,160).

Get the facts straight, and give credit where credit is due, this BOE did a great job with the contract compared to the Torres led contract with Garth.

Despite strong and vocal dissent from many in the community, Dr. Birks is the next superintendent of New Haven public schools.
If any journalist created an extensive examination and timeline of this superintendent search, it will reveal a sordid, distorted, divisive, subverted and sabotaged process that was too long, too political, nontransparent, too exclusive.
Many parents, educators, students and others in the community justifiably believed they were never adequately informed, seriously included, or actively involved in the process.
This was a political power play for control and domination that had little to do with the academic welfare of the students. Many of those who have closely observed the Board's activities and the lack thereof during the past year have a strong sense of what went down.
Dr. Birks must have our support and encouragement to put KIDS FIRST. We are duty-bound as parents, educators, students and citizens to monitor every policy, program and decision to make sure that goal is achieved. When Dr. Birks does well, we should praise her. Whenever she may stray from the vision of strengthening our public schools, we must challenge her with fact and truth.
The New Haven Public Schools must have one, single superintendent. This job is not a "triumvirate," a government in ancient Rome with a group of three men holding power. The professional educators with training and experience must run our schools, not the politicians. Dr. Birks must be allowed to lead our school district without political interference, political directives, and without political handcuffs and arm-twisting.
We expect the new superintendent to be an independent thinker and leader with the tenacity and courage to do the right thing and not the political thing for our kids. She can start by understanding that this Educational Ship can have but one captain, and explaining that to everyone who needs to know or be reminded.
When everyone stays in their own lane, accidents are avoided!

Brian, forgive me for nitpicking, but you keep making this mistake. It's Dr. Birks, not Mrs.

Whatever your opinion about her salary or planned agenda for NHPS, she surely worked hard for that title and deserves to be called by it, just like Dr. Mayo, Dr. Joyner, and Dr. Torre.

.... "This is a perfect example of how inadequate reporting leads to ill informed comments..

No, not Exactly Darnell. The reporting on this article is on point, it is the Board members who show what calamity ill-informed rational can produce with or without justification. In this case, without factual justification.
When Harries left town he left $300K on the table, with a base salary of $201K. Minus incentives, which you supported. The NHI article of Sept. 2016 actually reported "It was later learned that the agreement calls for Harries to be paid his full salary and benefits through June 30, 2017. His contract runs through June 30, 2018. The agreement also called for him to receive medical benefits through June 30, 2018, unless he obtains health insurance in a new position.
"He left about $300,000 on the table," said one person familiar with the deliberations. Harries' salary is $200,797 a year." Therefore it is extremely difficult to justify a factual basis for paying Birks a $325K starting base salary, where her current position for which she is still under contract to Hartford school system pays her 175K.

Then you compound the salary error with unsupported documentation of a UN- tested person who has never held a superintendent position anywhere, then, agreeing to pay exorbitant amounts without debate.
Worse of all, without knowing the BOE'S OVERALL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. So much for Kids first, they will have to wait for teachers, counselors, nurses and other support staff.

@ Jill_the_Pill,

My not recognizing the new superintendent by her full name is done with disrespect at all. It's because I didn't remember that she had her doctorate. Know this, I have absolutely NO problem at all implementing her complete title from now on. And by the way, I thank you for bringing that to my attention.

Now it's my turn to bring something to your attention. I find it quite interesting that you can acknowledge Dr. Birks' educational accomplishments, but how ironic it is that you seem to be in opposition to the amount of money she received because of her educational accomplishments.

If Dr. Birks is satisfied with her contract, then I'm satisfied with it also. Her task to increase test scores citywide is monumental. For those who don't know, the student today is far different from the student when I was in elementary school during the 60's. Teachers are asked to be behaviorist, psychologist, mothers, fathers and after all of that, teachers. So after all of that, I ask you Jill_the_Pill, if you can object to the amount of money Dr. Birks received, what dollar amount do you recommend? Remember, she has her doctorate.

THE PERFECT EXAMPLE


http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/harries_out/

" Her task to increase test scores citywide is monumental."

I disagree that her task is to increase test scores. It should be to increase student learning.

"Teachers are asked to be behaviorist, psychologist, mothers, fathers and after all of that, teachers."

I agree, but she is not a teacher.

"So after all of that, I ask you Jill_the_Pill, if you can object to the amount of money Dr. Birks received, what dollar amount do you recommend? Remember, she has her doctorate."

I can object. Mr. Harries was grossly overpaid; we should not use his salary as a baseline, especially in tight times when education funds are being slashed at all levels. Dr. Birks had been earning $170,000 in Hartford, but only for a few months in that role as Chief of Staff. So, I would certainly say under $200,000. In fact, if Mr. Harries started at an exorbitant $193,000, surely $200,000 would have recognized her extra credentials, while saving $35,000 to spend directly on student services.

@ Jill_the_Pill,

"I disagree that her task is to increase test scores. It should be to increase student learning."

I guess you're not sure yourself huh? "It should be." As opposed to it is.

If we were to juxtapose your statement with mine, one can easily deduce the obvious finality. By increasing student learning, that of in itself, in most cases, will also increase test scores.

"Teachers are asked to be behaviorist, psychologist, mothers, fathers and after all of that, teachers."

"I agree, but she is not a teacher." Really? Perhaps you would do well by reading her profile before you emphatically write that which you apparently know no nothing of. Further, I submit to you, if you were to ask her if she were a teacher I'm sure she would tell you yes. Because she's now the superintendent, doesn't in know way erase her background in teacher.

Because you say she deserves $200,000 doesn't make it so. One can easily use your same argument on your salary. How would you like a 20 percent pay cut?

I have a few comments. One how does the Superintendent make waaaay more than the Mayor? And I wonder why the Mayor agreed to it. I mean compared to other cities the Mayor is under paid. Second since the contract was agreed on big win for Dr.Birks for sure. If this article is correct, huge win for her. And who am I to say she doesn't deserve it however with the Financial Crisis we face how can we afford her salary plus ass kissing benefits? Thats the part I am confused. If this city got it like that than why dont we have guidance counselors im ALL schools and FULL TIME Nurses? I mean since we all big willie. Where did they pull this money from? The sky? So that upsets me more when we are told countless times budget crisis and thhis is why this or that is cut or cannot be approved yet.. Im sure I will never get answers to my questions but I honestly just want to understand.

Fachec,

As I stated earlier, bad reporting leads to bad conclusions. The quotes you attribute from the previous article are also wrong. Get Both contracts and compare. Harries wasn't even close to $200k when he left, it was closer to $300k. And his contract had a much higher growth than Birk's. Harries started with a $23k annuity and grew each year by 12%, 14%, 16%, and finally 18%. Birks' annuity will increase by 2% each year. Harries was able to bank 217 vacation days, Birks can at the most bank 170, which is in line with the other administrators. All of Her benefits are equal to all other administrators. She didn't get any special perks. The only benefits she received that the other admins don't is the car and reasonable moving expenses (from Bridgeport to New Haven), which are standard benefits for any Dept leader. And yes, her salary is the highest in the city, which is what you would expect for the person who leads the largest Dept in the city, the school system.

New Haven has the largest system by most metrics, http://edsight.ct.gov/SASPortal/main.do. We were able to negotiate a contract which has the Supt with less pay and benefits than the other urban and smaller districts.

The facts speak for themselves.
The facts

>> "It should be." As opposed to it is.

Not expressing my indecision, but rather my lack of faith that that is how she and others running our education system will see it.

>> By increasing student learning, that of in itself, in most cases, will also increase test scores.

But the converse is not true: scores can be increased without an increase in actual learning (as opposed to practicing test strategy, teach-to-the-test).

>>>"I agree, but she is not a teacher." Really?

Really. I have read her profile carefully. She was a teacher for a few years, years ago. This is a VAST improvement on GH, but she is hired for an administrative role and will not be asked to be parent/psychologist/whatever. Instead, her salary will cost us a teacher or a guidance counselor or a social worker. Honestly Brian, if I thought she'd really work for the students' well-being, I wouldn't grudge it, but I have seen the destruction of the Hartford Public Schools and do not want us to take that path.

>> Because you say she deserves $200,000 doesn't make it so.

The only reason I gave my opinion is because you asked it. I sadly understand that as a parent in this district, I no longer have any say.

>> How would you like a 20 percent pay cut?

What pay cut? She's never earned over $200k in a year. $200k would be a giant raise.

posted by: Jessica.Light on December 19, 2017 12:23pm

We are on the same team and the students of New Haven must be our focus. Let's keep fighting for the cause- not with each other.

The rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning and I will not be the last Jedi.

posted by: Thomas Alfred Paine on December 19, 2017 4:39pm

This was a political power play for control and domination that had little to do with the academic welfare of the students. Many of those who have closely observed the Board's activities and the lack thereof during the past year have a strong sense of what went down.

Home Run.

Birks will start out earning $235,000 annually, making her New Haven's highest-paid employeeShe's guaranteed a 2 percent raise in her second year, and the board can determine whether to pay her more in her third year.Birks will also qualify for numerous benefits. There's a $10,000 payment into a tax-sheltered annuity (the public-school equivalent of a 401(k) retirement plan), with a 2 percent increase in the second year. She'll also get the same health insurance, vacation days and sick leave as other administrators; life insurance at two times her salary; a district-provided car, with money for gas, oil changes, insurance and repairs; a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet and a home printer; and, if approved by the board president, reimbursements for professional and civic organizations.

Wealth is not the fruit of labor but the result of organized protected robbery.

Frantz Fanon

By state law we MUST have Superintendent, this is not a choice for us to make. We decide who that is, not whether or not we should have one. These arguments or statements that her salary is costing us guidance counselors or teachers Larry disingenuous, we are choosing one over another. Secondly, at the end of 3 years Dr. Birks will be making far less than Garth was, so again the argument that she is overpaid is simply not true. I really wish we could have honest fact based discussions, as opposed to these half truths or outright lies people continue to spread. If the school system in Hartford was failing, it certainly wasn't the fault of one administrator. I would be surprised if anyone would try to make the same argument against any of the administrators here in New Haven. The systems in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and other urban areas throughout the country are a result of many factors, and we should have an honest discussion regarding that. It is time to stop repeating the false notions that she is a charter hack, or was fired for ineptness, or all of the other lies used to try to influence the hiring process. When the search firm gave her name to us, along with 5 other candidates, she was then seen as highly qualified by all concerned, including the 2 board members who fought against her hire. Only when their candidate was eliminated by a committee of 17 did she become unqualified.

She has been hired, if you really care about education in New Haven accept her hire and work to make her and this administration the best in the state.

In short, stop whining, roll up your sleeves, and lets get to work.

"...we can't have the ship sinking." That ship has sunk.

>> " If the school system in Hartford was failing, it certainly wasn't the fault of one administrator."

No certainly not. It was a collective effort of superintendents, board members, finance directors, mayors, and reform industry lobbyists -- a structure similar to what we are setting up here. She is (merely) the keystone.

>> "her salary is costing us guidance counselors or teachers . . . we are choosing one over another. "

Is the budget going to expand to cover both? I do hope so, but it seems unrealistic. A finite budget is a zero-sum problem.

>>"roll up your sleeves, and lets get to work."

Never rolled them down. Three-Fifths is not the last Jedi.

Jill,

You are missing the point. The budget has always had a line for the Supt, whether it was Mayo, Harries, Mayo again, or now Birks. We are not expanding the budget to accommodate the Supt. Therefore we are not taking away from anywhere else in the budget. We cannot choose between a Supt or a guidance counselor, we must by state law have a Supt. We certainly do have to determine how to increase our guidance counselors, but that decision is not dependent on the Supt salary. Harries salary and annuity was growing by over $8500 per year, Birks is only $4500. Harries had a clause in his contract where we paid him for health and life insurance for a lifetime, Birks does not (a significant cost savings). Harries annuity grew by 14-18% a year and started at $23,000, Birks starts at $10,000 and grows by 2% a year. There are more perks in Harries contract that do not exist in Birks contract. The BOE did a good job of negotiating a cost effective contract for the taxpayers. If you want to complain about contracts, look at the Torre led Harries contract which gave the house away.

Again, suggesting that giving a contract to the Supt takes away from hiring teachers and guidance is disingenuous, and is not a correct comparison. Why continue to repeat it? Having a discussion about the budget and priorities is a fair discussion to have. I'd like for you and others to make suggestions on where to cut. That would be fair. At the last student meeting, I informed them that transportation is the largest line item in the budget. I then asked them if they would be willing, as high school students, get bus passes to replace school buses. Maybe 4 out of the 30 or so students thought that was something they would be willing to do.

So, where do we make changes or cut? There will always be opposition to changes in the budget. Are you willing to make suggestions that will make you unpopular with some?

Darnell, a bit of research would have revealed the average school superintendent salary in CT, those with a Doctorate and Superintendent experience: https://www1.salary.com/CT/School-Superintendent-salary.html

In addition:
https://patch.com/connecticut/clinton/connecticut-school-superintendents-get-high-pay-and-p83779497b0

Clearly demonstrates that Dr. Birks is overated and unashamedly over-paid by a bunch of board members, none of whom earn over $75K, excepting the mayor, who just saw her value increase by $10K.

"We cannot choose between a Supt or a guidance counselor, we must by state law have a Supt."

Of course, but the amount budgeted for that person is somewhat arbitrary. This could have been one of those "hard choices" we're always asked to make -- lower the budget item for Super (and other central administrators) and redirect some of those funds to classrooms.

I sit here wondering why has it been so difficult to increase the pay of paras, ensure every school has updated books and materials, have enough guidance counselors, teachers, and nurses. However, there was enough $ in the budget to cover payouts, playing political games and approving this superintendent pay. I am not just talking about this years budget because obviously we have seen how the $ issues have increased throughout the years with all the broken programs and top heavy pays.The problem isn't totally Dr. Birks it is the Board who put her in the line of fire to pacify their own egos. There is no trust in four of the current board members and with the classy act that Cotto pulled at the board meeting I doubt that trust will start to increase. "KIDS FIRST" has not been demonstrated by the actions of the board members and it concerns me that a board member has to comment on here to try to justify the boards poor choices. We should not be competing with other cities or Garths salary because our budget is not were it should be to do so. So, if a pay increase to 200k wasn't enough for Dr. Birks who is knowingly coming into a district suffering of $ to do right by it's educational system. It makes me wonder if she is the best fit. Clearly, this brings more conflict and again no trust in the board members who claim it is. If he hasn't realized, he is one of the board members who severed that trust and his constant badgering is uncalled for. Roll up your sleeves and start putting our kids first because we know you don't believe in our school system with the decisions you are making and not having your own children attend this school system. The past doesn't count we are talking about the present where it is affecting our children and grandchildren. I have no choice but to work with this untrustworthy board and New Superintendent however, I promise they will have to work hard to build that trust.

FacChec

First you reference a site, salary.com, whose numbers are clearly incorrect. They actually state that the current Superintendent for New Haven makes $166,330. Where did that number come from? Harries started with $193,000, and we know that Mayo left at way over $200,000.

Wrong again.

Second, you reference 2013 Patch article that discussed salaries, and stated that 28 CT Supts made over $200,000. So that blew your first link out of the water.

Wrong Again.

This is what I mean by misinformation and half-truths. We can't have an honest discussion if folks continue to put out bad information as FACTS.

Perhaps you should do a little bit more research (more than 3 minutes), and maybe get your Facts Checked.

Facchec

One more Wrong Again.

How do you suppose that you know the salaries of the BOE members. I can tell you for a fact that you are wrong about mine, and I do t have a clue how much any of the others make on their jobs, but clearly

YOU HAVE YOUR FACTS WRONG AGAIN

@Jill,

From your response, it appears that you are suggesting that we cut central office administrators. The Supt salary is already set. Any suggestions on what administrators we should cut? And other savings you want to suggest?

Just so we have a clear idea of what's going on in Hartford:

http://commons.trincoll.edu/cssp/2016/10/27/equity2020/ --- at least read the second section, "How Did We Get Here?"

@Darnell

Regarding administrators to cut- we could start with the ~35% that are chronically absent.

(https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/More-than-10-percent-of-NHPS-teachers-chronically-12420304.php)

"Any suggestions on what administrators we should cut? And other savings you want to suggest?"

Sure. Pre-emptively, we should cut the conversion of Directors to Assistant Superintendents, if that would involve a salary increase and the hiring of support staff. We should fill the Finance Director position with someone cheaper than VDLP and not hire a Finance intern-assistant.

Darnell, nothing wrong with the link I forwarded from salary .com. If you had read it more carefully you would see that he quotes "AVERAGE" salaries of Supt. in New Haven. The full explanation of the text reads as follows:

What is the average School Superintendent salary for New Haven, CT?
How much does a School Superintendent in New Haven, CT make? The median annual School Superintendent salary in New Haven, CT is $169,330, as of November 28, 2017, with a range usually between $138,325-$204,324 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay. However, the salary for someone with the title School Superintendent may vary depending on a number of factors including industry, company size, location, years of experience and level of education. Our team of Certified Compensation Professionals has analyzed survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at companies of all sizes and industries to present this range of annual salaries for people with the job title School Superintendent in New Haven, CT.

The key words here are median and range NOT including bonuses.
Neither Mayor or Harries started the supt job at $204K, much less $235K base pay without bonus.

Your weakness continues to show that you rather be right than be correct, that is why you respond to every post you view as adverse to that of your own.

Ok...I have waited and pondered, and perhaps even filtered some, but I cannot stay silent any longer.
How do you go from "When you have me as your superintendent, you will have total transparency." to "Records about her Birks's past employment have also been kept secret." I'm so disheartened by the hypocrisy of this whole process. Between a Mayor who is "running" the BOE, and the budget crisis that seemingly does not apply to Ms. Birks, what happened to Children First?? This new leader has "(turned) down meetings with parent and student leaders who called her plans controversial and the search process a sham." Our union had to fight hard to ensure that teachers would not have pay freezes/cuts; so now we can "afford" our increased insurance costs. Schools budgets were frozen, teachers (and I speak first hand here) have not received their minimal allotment of supplies and are forced to spend out of pocket (or go without such basics such as pencils, paper, markers, etc.), schools are in various degrees of disrepair (from basic wear-and-tear to structural/environmental issues), teachers fund their own "tax sheltered annuities" without any district matching, we must rely on Donors Choose, donations, and community outreach for basic necessities & big ticket items for our classrooms...all the while, funds are available for:
"$235,000 annually, guaranteed a 2 percent raise in her second year, and the board can determine whether to pay her more in her third year. numerous benefits: $10,000 payment into a tax-sheltered annuity with a 2 percent increase in the second year, same health insurance, vacation days and sick leave as other administrators; life insurance at two times her salary; a district-provided car, with money for gas, oil changes, insurance and repairs; a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet and a home printer; and, if approved by the board president, reimbursements for professional and civic organizations.
Can ANYone tell me where THIS money came from??

Facchec.

Wow!!! I hear you, don't let the facts get in the way. The last 2 Supts - Fact - Mayo salary was far above $200,000. Fact - Harries, with no experience, began at &193;,000 and ended at far above $200,000. Average their salaries and you end up at above $200,000, no where near the $169,000 you claim is the average. Fact - Also, the 2013 article you reference puts the average for New Haven well above $200,000.

Debating with you is like debating with Donald Trump, the fact that the last 2 Supts are well above $200,000 is fake news, which you refute using your great mind and the best memory in the world.

Bye Felisha.

Nice try. It's actually much more Trump-like to support the privatization of public education, the undermining of teacher unions, the reliance on standardized testing, large investments in ed-tech and big data, hiring more managers and the expansion of charter schools, all of which we will see from the next superintendent and unelected school board. The NHPS, the mayor, a majority of the NHBOE, Trump and DeVos are all on the same page.and that' page is personal enrichment and political power. Kids First? Democracy is done in NH when it comes to education

@Kathy B I have asked maybe about twice in this article since Darnell was responding however no answer on my question. I to would like to know where the money came from. and among the salary all these other perks. she got over good if you ask me. and I'm not mad at her. its the BOARD THE BOARD THE BOARD!!! fault again. why they agreed to something like this. that desperate that you just give away the farm. the farm that we are told countless times is BROKE! maybe I just don't understand. maybe there is separate funding for recruitment. I don't know and not getting any answers.

Jill - thanks for the suggestions

Watchful - what perks?

Callisto - Nice try, can I borrow your crystal ball, I'd like to play the lottery this week. Better yet, never mind, it seems to be off by a lot, I'm better off using the quick pick. None of the things you mentioned have happened, nor are they on the agenda for any board members. Your statement/predictions are Simply. Not. True.

"Can ANYone tell me where THIS money came from??"

There is a budget line for "Office of the Superintendent -- Total Staff Cost." For a while, that was probably a huge number because we were paying off Garth Harries and simultaneously paying Dr. Mayo. So, they feel all happy and thrifty to be now paying "only" $235,000 + benefits.

I was unable to find the 2017-18 budget on nhps.net, but the line item was $1 million in 2016-17 -- that includes other staff but not health insurance, pensions, or Dr. Mayo's pay. It lists Harries' salary as $197,000. I don't know where they stash the benefits -- maybe under the $2.4 million for "Superintendent's Office, Total Non-Personnel" or maybe the city pays them directly? Now, think of that: 3.5 million dollars to run a small office -- that is equivalent to the budget of an entire 500-student school.

The difference between $235,000 and $200,000 could have replaced TIF funding for seven teachers to offer after-school programs. The cost of a city car could have paid for fourth-graders to take a field trip to the CT Science Center. I wonder if she'd be willing to get bus passes instead?

I would love to see Darnell respond to Kathy B.

well I am going to say this per this article .. we are screwed royally as she has already officially spoke of her anxiousness to work with charter schools. YOU ARE THE SUPERINTENDENT OF NEW HAVEN PUBLIC schools .. dont forget that because we wont allow anything different. We expect you to take care of PUBLIC schools not those who will supplement your future income!

@ Darnell,

I appreciate your sharing the analysis that allowed the board to arrive at the dollar amount in which you did. That said, this constant responding to all these critics who refuse to move on, is futile.

Quite frankly, I am pretty much impressed with your leadership regarding this ordeal and many others. It's time for you to continue demonstrating this leadership in 2018 as the chairman of the board.

Full disclosure, Dr. Birks was not my first choice, Gary Highsmith was. Not because of anything in her background, but because of my affinity towards Gary. However, the moment she was selected by the board, was the moment she was selected by me also.

@darnell,
"Harries started with $193,000"
"Harries wasn't even close to $200k when he left, it was closer to $300k."

-this is what makes taxpayers sick. If Harries performed to a standard that the board felt they needed to get rid of him and pay him severance, why did they approve such massive pay increases for him while he was there? (answer: they either approved his increases at the start of his tenure, before they had any performance to look at, or they chose to give him raises despite the fact they didn't approve his performance; either way its a bad deal for students and taxpayers, and the board should have learned not to make the same mistake again).

The bottom line is they gave Dr. Birks a very nice package, substantially more than what Harries started at. This despite the city constantly telling us times are tough, the state budget in crisis, taxes going up, and we lack funding for other school services. Why? Why didn't they start her at 200k? raise her pay if she does a great job.

My point is leaders should be in touch with citizens. If they say, "we are in a crisis" when they cut school programs or raise taxes, they should also say "we are in a crisis" when they determine salaries of city leaders. Nothing against Dr. Birks I hope she does an amazing job and ends up being well worth the money.