As the state of Delaware’s budget crisis continues, the state government has turned a critical eye on the largest item in the state budget – education.
“The state is in a very difficult financial situation, and that situation isn’t getting better this coming year or the year after that,” said State Auditor General Tom Wagner. “We have to make very tough choices."
Wagner has released a report calling for the consolidation of Delaware’s 19 school districts into as few as three — one for each county — in order to reduce the price of administration.
“You can cut teachers if we’re seeing student enrollment drop, class sizes shrinking on their own, but that’s not what’s happening,” Wagner said. “The only other option is to look at administrative costs.”
Wagner said that while he knows consolidating the districts is a radical step and will face major obstacles in the General Assembly, the state — as well as individual school districts — needs to look at cutting administrative costs and salaries where they can.
“You don’t want to cut teachers, you don’t want to cut principals,” he said.
Instead, his report singles out superintendents’ salaries as examples of administrative overspending, pointing out that eight district superintendents in Delaware make more than Gov. Jack Markell. If the governor takes the 20 percent tax cut he has promised, the report states 13 superintendents would have larger paychecks than Markell.
“Education’s a tough job. Education’s an important job. But sometimes you have to take it back and compare to the people that you serve,” Wagner said.
That crowd definitely includes the Milford School District’s Robert Smith, who will retire at the end of this month after drawing a $161,448 salary for his last year on the job. According to Wagner’s figures, Smith is the state’s sixth highest paid superintendent.
Indian River Superintendent Susan Bunting and Sussex Tech's Patrick Savini rank 13th ($138,720) and 15th ($136,778), respectively.
Smith said much of that comes from his 13-year tenure in Milford, with another 23 years in other Delaware school districts. Administrators’ salaries come in part from the state department of education, and the state gives its own raises for seniority and achievement milestones. That includes a now-retired system called “clusters,” which earned Smith a number of raises before it was discontinued.
“Just because of the time I’ve been in education in Delaware, I’m maxed out on every scale that the Department of Education has,” he said.
STATEWIDE —
