PD Editorial: Santa Rosa schools should rethink big raises

What's wrong with this picture? At their meeting on Wednesday, Santa Rosa school board members ratified a contract that includes a 7% pay increase for teachers spread over two years. It's a fair settlement, given the school district's financial constraints. But a little further down the agenda were double-digit pay raises for Superintendent Diann Kitamura, the deputy superintendent and three assistant superintendents. The proposed salary bump for Kitamura is approximately 29%, lifting her from $200,000 to $257,000 a year. Teachers cried foul. They're right.

Kitamura has done a fine job, and so have the teachers. She is paid less than many of her peers. That's true for teachers, too. The elimination of an assistant superintendent position is expected to cover of the cost of the raises for her remaining Cabinet members. However, as we've noted in previous editorials, enrollment in Santa Rosa schools is down, projections show an ongoing decline, and the district is on track to exhaust its budget reserves within three years. Recommended vocabulary word: austerity.

The school board postponed the vote because two members were absent. We hope board members use the extra time to reconsider the cost - and the optics - of such large raises for the district's top administrators.

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