HERMITAGE

Hermitage School directors said an "outstanding" first-year performance earned Superintendent Karen Ionta a four percent raise for the 2002-03 school year.

Mrs. Ionta, who earned $89,900 this year, will make $92,560 thanks to the raise approved Monday.

"Even though it was her first year, she handled situations very well; situations that a seasoned superintendent would have had difficulty handling," said board president Duane Piccirilli, referring to school renovations and a teacher's strike.

Mrs. Ionta's raise was approved by a unanimous vote. Board members Ray Slovesko and Timothy Ruffo weren't present, but Piccirilli said the move was discussed in a prior executive session with all board members present and they were all in agreement.

Mrs. Ionta is in the second year of a five year contract.

"What the public doesn't realize is when Karen signed her contract last year, she requested that she would not get any automatic increase per year, but that it be based on her performance and the economic condition of the district for that year," Piccirilli said.

The board approved raises for the district's six principals, the director of administrative services and confidential employees, such as administrative assistants, secretaries and department heads.

Administration raises, which are based on performance, can go as high as 3.92 percent in 2002-03, 3.77 percent in 2003-04, and 3.63 percent in 2004-05. Those figures are in line with raises awarded to teachers under their current contract.

"We do a very comprehensive appraisal," said Mrs. Ionta. The average administrator's salary for the 2001-2002 school year is $69,574, according to Mrs. Ionta. If the average administrator receives the top increase each year, the salary would be $72,301 for 2002-03; $75,026 for 2003-04; and $77,749 for the 2004-05 school year.

The board also approved a $3,500 bonus for board secretary Jan DeJulia and $1,500 for Mrs. Ionta for extra work they did during teacher contract negotiations. The money comes from the Superintendent's office budget, Mrs. Ionta said.

"Mrs. DeJulia put in countless hours attending all the meetings during the contract negotiations, writing up all the minutes, and doing extra research" over 2è years of negotiations, Piccirilli said. "And Mrs. Ionta was a major part of getting a settlement that was fair."

Piccirilli praised Mrs. Ionta's work. "We all felt that she has brought the morale of the parents, teachers and students to an all-time high, and I've been on the board for almost nine years," Piccirilli said.