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Hernando schools to study administrative pay plan

 
Hernando schools Super-intendent John Stratton
Hernando schools Super-intendent John Stratton
Published Aug. 22, 2018

BROOKSVILLE — When longtime Hernando County principal Jill Renihan was promoted to lead the school district's safety efforts this month, the added responsibility didn't come with a raise. Instead, she took a $1,075-a-year pay cut.

For superintendent John Stratton, who rose through the ranks in the Hernando district and strongly supports promoting employees from within, that is a problem.

The district's compensation plan discourages school administrators from taking district-level jobs, he told the School Board during a workshop last week. And that needs fixing.

"I realize that there may be a price tag that we're not going to touch for a long time," Stratton told the board. "With that said, if we don't fix the mechanism, we're never going to touch it."

At his suggestion, the School Board authorized a free study by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents to examine how Hernando's administrative positions and salaries compare to other districts with similar demographics and tax bases.

The way staffing is structured now, Stratton said, "prevents growing our principals" and contributes to the ongoing shortage of administrators Hernando has battled in recent years.

"What we found in this district was difficulty in filling some of our positions and attracting principals from the schools to come to the district office," he said. "In most cases, they'll lose money. Or there's just not positions to attract them to in terms of growth."

All five board members supported the study, but some had caveats. Susan Duval and Linda Prescott voiced concerns about its hard focus on administration rather than the district as a whole.

"Every single department, every single school has been impacted by the cuts that have been made," Duval said, adding that she would like to examine the staffing structure of all employees — from painters and plumbers to the department heads that supervise them.

"I will support it, but tempered by the fact that it's always going to come back to cost and what we can do for every area in our school system," she said. "They all need help."

Stratton agreed, telling officials the district tried to look at the entire staffing plan last year before realizing the job was too hefty to tackle all at once. The study on administrative positions will be a good first step toward that goal, he said, especially because it's covered by a grant. Anything further would require funding by the board.

"Ideally, yes, I would like it to lead to a full compensation study, but that would be at a cost," Stratton said. "We'd have to look at companies to come in and do that."

Chairman Mark Johnson said he hopes the study helps the district better align positions with the district's needs. With time and changes in technology, job descriptions and duties could use an update, he added.

"But that's down the pipe," he said. "First ... we've gotta figure out what we have an what it should be, then we can work forward."

Toward the end of the meeting, board member Beth Narverud asked Stratton to explain a recent, real-life example of promoting from within — Renihan's appointment. She said it didn't sit right with her.

Narverud, Duval, and Prescott each said they had received calls from residents who wondered why the position, which the state required of all Florida districts this year, wasn't filled by someone with security or law enforcement experience, as it was in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas school districts.

"I do like and appreciate promoting from within ... I just have a real concern on this particular position because it is so vital," Duval said. "This is about finding the best person possible."

Stratton said he has heard similar concerns, then offered an explanation:

Hernando doesn't have its own police force like some other school districts do. All security is handled by school resource officers from the Sheriff's Office through a contract with the School Board, so Stratton said didn't feel the person in Renihan's position needed to have knowledge in that area.

SafePlans, a emergency preparedness company also under contract with the district, will facilitate safety trainings for staff and students — and Renihan herself will undergo state training within the year, he said.

"What we felt we needed was a veteran administrator that knows how schools operate," Stratton said. "We need a liaison between the building principals, school resource officers, the Sheriff's Office, SafePlans and the community."

Still, Prescott wondered why Stratton didn't make the job available to external applicants. Renihan was one of only two who applied internally, Narverud said.

"We don't know who's out in Hernando County," Duval said. "Why didn't we look at that? Why didn't we open it up?"

Stratton said his mindset for hiring is to always look "internally first." Only if no qualified candidates come forward does a job become available to outside applicants.

Johnson and Board member Gus Guadagnino both said they supported the hiring.

"I appreciate the candor and the feedback," Stratton said. "But I stand by the decision that I made."

Contact Megan Reeves at mreeves@tampabay.com. Follow @mareevs.

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