OUTGOING Rep. Marco Peter on Tuesday expressed concern over the recent decision of the Board of Education to raise Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred B. Ada’s salary to $125,000 from $90,000 and provide him a car stipend of $800 a month.
Marco Peter
Peter said while students are struggling to gain internet access in different areas of the community and risking exposure to Covid-19 by congregating in different social halls to access the internet, the board is more concerned with the salary of the commissioner.
“[It] doesn’t make sense,” Peter said. “They are more concerned that he was underpaid…. You can soak that in for the new year. For the incoming [House members] please just consider [this] when [the Public School System] comes to visit during the [next] budget hearings,” he added.
According to the BOE, Ada’s pay scale must reflect the PSS standard compensation plan for those with post-graduate degrees, such as doctors of education, along with other required or credited number of years of education, experience, training and other skills.
At the beginning of the hiring process, the commissioner’s salary and benefits are offered and announced, the BOE stated.
It added that Ada’s predecessors immediately received $125,000 during the probationary period of their appointment.
The average school superintendent salary in the U.S. as of last month was $164,000, an amount that increases depending on other factors, such as education, certifications, additional skills, and years of experience, the BOE stated.
The BOE noted that 65% of the commissioner’s current salary is federally funded, which is allowed by federal grantors for superintendents of education.
In retaining Ada as commissioner of education, the BOE said it believes that he has performed above and beyond what was expected of him during his first year in office by helping the school district receive unprecedented federal grant awards that mitigated the impact of the financial challenges facing PSS as a result of twin natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic.
