DHererra presented the full board with a history of contract negotiations with prospective Director Karen Kuse. Karen has been serving as Interim Director for the 2024-2025 school year after the retirement of former Director Jonnie Lyn Evans. 

Several concerns were brought up by Trustees, including the financial soundness of meeting KKuse's hopes for compensation which are higher than the salary range in the job listing, the fact that KKuse will be one of the highest paid public employees in Newburyport, and the gap in pay between the Director and other school employees.

CWhitford addressed concerns about the budgetary impact of the discussed compensation amounts and assured the board the compensation is within the budget of the school. The question became just because it is affordable, is it the right thing to do?

Question: What KKuse aware of the salary range when she applied for the job and accepted the job? DHererra - Yes.

The salaries of other public education leaders were discussed along with other high ranking Newburyport public service employees, including the Superintendent of Schools and Police Chief. Several Trustees expressed discomfort at the comparative salary being considered, especially when the size of the school was compared to the size of local school districts. Trustees also were supportive of KKuse and reiterated how important she will be for the future of the school and reminded the rest of the board that Superintendents have a lot of support that KKuse doesn't have access to.

Discussion also covered the pay gap between the director and other educators within the RVCS community. It was brought up that on a deep dive of the history of school salaries, it was found that previous administrations contributed to this and it isn't necessarily indicative of KKuse's administration.

ATing led a discussion of different potential offers. The offers differed in base salary, yearly salary increases and a relocation allowance. Trustees weighed and altered the options and agreed to vote on the following salary offer:

A three-year contract with compensation as follows: 182K start salary with 5% yearly increase and a $15,000 relocation allowance. With a payback clause of 1/2 repayment if the contract is broken.