Whitnall School Superintendent Karen Petric voluntarily took a one-year pay freeze to help the school district give raises to other non-union employees, School Board President Bill Osterndorf said.
The School Board on Monday approved a 2.25 percent increase in the total compensation package for non-union employees over the next school year.
The non-unionized group includes administrators, principals, assistant principals and some secretaries.
The board wanted to give larger increases because of their performance, but the bad economy limited their raises, Osterndorf said.
There was some discussion about freezing their salaries, but their wages were already low compared to their peers and the board wanted to stay competitive with other school districts, he said.
"We'd like to give a bigger increase in light of their performance and contributions, but in current economic conditions we couldn't do anything higher than this," Osterndorf said.
Petric, who earns about $165,000 per year, realized the employees' pay was comparatively low and didn't want the district to lose those staffers to higher-paying jobs, Osterndorf said. So she decided not to take a pay hike in the coming school year. Instead, the money that would have been earmarked for her raise will be used to help fund the raises for other staffers.
"She's helping to ensure we keep some of the people who make the district go," Osterndorf said. "We were certainly pleased and appreciated her willingness to do that."
Petric could not be immediately reached for comment.
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