Superintendent's Contract & Job Description

I recently requested and received the contracts and job descriptions of several Central Office administrators. I will be posting a number of contracts and job descriptions. I thought it would be appropriate to start with those of Mr. Johnson.

According to his contract, Mr. Johnson is receiving a yearly base annual salary of $160,000. I don’t think that this base salary is unreasonable considering the size of I-SS. (Note: This amount is about $10,000 less than what Dr. Holliday was receiving.) However, I do have to question the rationale for the additional compensation that Mr. Johnson receives.

In addition to paying his base salary, the School System also reimburses Mr. Johnson for his cost of Social Security, his contribution to the State Retirement System, and up to $5,000 for his participation in employer-offered cafeteria benefit plans. These cafeteria benefit plans include such things as vision, dental, and cancer insurance. These are benefits that other school employees must pay for themselves.

I don’t know the additional value of these benefits for Mr. Johnson but some time ago I determined that Dr. Holliday was receiving about $40,000 for these same benefits. I think that this is a way of hiding the actual compensation of the superintendent. The Board should be honest and just pay a reasonable base salary and let the superintendent pay for these other items just as other school employees must do.

I also have a question about one of the items listed on the Superintendent’s Job description under the section titled: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS. In this section it states that the superintendent must be able to sit, stand, walk and drive a car. It seems to me that to require the superintendent to be able to sit, stand and walk is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This requirement is also in the job descriptions of other I-SS Administrators.

Superintendent's Contract: (Click on an image to enlarge it.)

Pages 1 and 2:

Pages 3 and 4:

Pages 5 and 6:

Pages 7 and 8:

Pages 9 and 10:

Page 11:

Superintendent's Job Description:

A Teacher's Job Description

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Johnson is suggesting that a number of Central Office administrators should be given salary adjustments (raises) because they are being assigned additional duties as he reorganizes the Central Office staff. I already mentioned that many individuals have stated that teachers are often assigned extra duties without receiving additional compensation. However, those remarks also made me think that it would be beneficial to list the duties, or responsibilities, of an typical classroom teacher.

To that end, I used Google to search for teacher job descriptions. I found several comprehensive lists of teacher duties. I then merged those lists and, with my wife’s assistance, added a few duties that were not already included. As you might suspect the list is quite lengthy but that is just a small testament to the dedication of the teachers. I am including the list below. There is some overlapping between the bulleted items but that is balanced out by the fact that there are numerous other items that could be broken down into multiple duties.

Professional Responsibilities of Teachers:

• Prepare classroom and materials for Open House.
• Assemble class rosters and get to know students and parents.
• Administer Common Formative Assessments.
• Prepare lesson plans that reflect a logical sequence of learning objectives and activities and meet the individual needs, interests, and abilities of the students.
• Implement instructional activities that contribute to a climate where students are actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences.
• Use a variety of instructional strategies and materials that are appropriate for the stated instructional objectives of the students involved.
• Collaborate with students to prepare PDSAs.
• Identify, select, and modify instructional resources to meet the needs of the students with varying backgrounds, learning styles, and special needs.
• Use relevant technology to support instruction.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use of learning materials and equipment.
• Establish standards of classroom conduct and administer them in a fair, equitable, and consistent manner.
• Teach a broad base of understanding without indoctrinating students with his/her own cultural, political, religious or philosophical beliefs.
• Ensure that student growth and achievement is continuous and appropriate for age group, subject area, and/or program classification.
• Read and critique student papers.
• Assist students as they complete class projects.
• Provide appropriate feedback on student work.
• Appropriately display student work in the classroom and hallways.
• Post current PDSA information in the classroom.
• Monitor and assess student progress and adjust student instruction accordingly.
• Maintain effective and efficient record keeping procedures.
• Observe and evaluate student's performance and development.
• Assign and grade class work, homework, tests and assignments.
• Encourage and monitor the progress of individual students.
• Keep accurate records and provide them for school district use and file required reports on a timely basis.
• Demonstrate gains in student performance.
• Prepare and submit progress reports and report cards.
• Apply appropriate disciplinary measures where necessary.
• Monitor after school detention room as assigned.
• Assist in assessing changing curricular needs and offer plans for improvement.
• Collaborate with peers to enhance the instructional environment.
• Assume responsibility for meeting his/her course and school-wide student performance goals.
• Participate in training and presentations about various teaching techniques.
• Meet professional obligations through efficient work habits such as: meeting deadlines, honoring schedules, coordinating.
• Attend and participate in required district in-service programs.
• Stay current through professional staff development opportunities.
• Utilize established channels for handling routine procedures, resolving problems/concerns and making suggestions.
• Participate in required staff meetings and conferences.
• Keep up to date with developments in subject area, teaching resources and methods and make relevant changes to instructional plans and activities.
• Participate in committees as related to student needs, school programs, and district needs.
• Works collaboratively to achieve the overall purposes of the school program.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan.
• Provide a positive environment in which students are encouraged to be actively engaged in the learning process.
• Prepare and display motivational items on classroom bulletin boards.
• Promote and maintain a safe and healthful environment in the classroom and building.
• Maintain an organized and clean classroom.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with students, parents, and other professionals on a regular basis.
• Communicate student academic and behavioral progress to parents.
• Develop and maintain positive and cooperative interactions and communication with school staff, clients, and the community.
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with students, parents, and schools.
• Performs bus and car duty before and after school as assigned.
• Participate in extracurricular activities such as social activities, sporting activities, clubs and student organizations.
• Provide supervision in non-classroom areas and situations in accordance with the building student management plan.
• Monitor students in hallways, cafeteria, gymnasium, and school grounds.
• Assign lockers and maintain records of those assignments.
• Provide direction and supervision for all school activities to which he/she is assigned (coach, director, supervisor, chaperon, etc.).
• Develop a budget for applicable programs and insure that needed materials are ordered with the administrator’s approval.
• Care for district resources, equipment and materials assigned to him/her and report concerns regarding facility and equipment to designated supervisor.
• When applicable, provide direction and/or supervision for teacher assistants, student teachers, interns, and substitutes.
• Maintain a current folder of responsibilities and procedures for substitute teacher's use.
• Model professional and ethical standards when dealing with students, parents, peers, and community.
• Participate in IEP meetings.
• Be knowledgeable of and adhere to all procedures and practices prescribed in the Teacher, Student, and/or Parent Handbooks.
• Keep an accurate and detailed accounts of all monies collected and submit detailed accounting of such money to the appropriate building or business office personnel.
• Be knowledgeable of and adhere to federal and state laws that apply to his/her job assignment.
• Perform all other duties and responsibilities as assigned by their supervisor or district administrator.

To conclude, I thank all teachers and teacher assistants for dedicating your lives to helping students achieve success in the classroom and in the world outside the classroom. As the above list indicates, a significant effort is required to assist students achieve their goals. To all teachers and assistants, have a great summer. Spend some extra quality time with your families and friends, and recharge your batteries because it will not be too long till the beginning of a new school year.

Resources:

Sevenstar Academy, Omaha Public Schools, Waunakee Community School District, and Best-Job-Interview.com.

Nepotism, Yes or No?

Recently, Former Governor Easley, his wife, Former NC State University Chancellor James Oblingner, and others have been criticized in regard to evidence showing that then Governor Easley and Former Chancellor Oblingner arranged for the creation of a new position at NC State and saw to it that Mrs. Easley was hired for that position. Once word of the collaboration was made public, Mrs. Easley was fired and Chancellor Oblingner resigned.

We have our own version of 'Easleygate' right here in Iredell County. Perhaps we should call it ‘Holligate.’ I am referring to the actions of Dr. Holliday, I-SS Superintendent, and the School Board. With the Board’s cooperation, not only has Dr. Holliday arranged for I-SS to hire his wife, he has recently promoted her to a Central Office Administrative position as K-5 Instructional Facilitator Coordinator. I have questioned this in the past and I question it again. Is this not a violation of the I-SS nepotism policy, which states the following?

In making recommendations for the selection of personnel, the superintendent will give every consideration to conditions which could result in the employment of two members of an immediate family where one member would occupy a position which has influence over the other's employment, promotion, salary or other related management and personnel considerations. No administrative or supervisory personnel will directly supervise a member of his or her immediate family.

In Dr. Holliday’s contract, under Duties, it states that he is the chief executive officer of the Board and is responsible for all student affairs, instructional and curriculum affairs, employment affairs, fiscal affairs, and business affairs. To me, and others, this means that Dr, Holliday has direct supervision over all I-SS employees including his wife. I have also stated that Mrs. Holliday did not meet the qualifications for this administrative position since the job description for the position states that a Master’s Degree is required and Mrs. Holliday does not have a Master’s Degree.

The members of the School Board do not agree with me and even had the local school attorney, Mr. William McMillan ‘investigate’ the matter. In his report to the board, Mr. McMillan stated that Dr. Holliday does not supervise his wife since there are at least two administrative links between him and his wife. Mr. McMillan went on to say that while Mrs. Holliday’s job description does state a preference for a Master’s Degree, it is not listed as an essential prerequisite for the position. You can read Mr. McMillan’s entire statement at the web link below.

Attorney McMillian's Memorandum

At the last Board meeting Dr. Holliday stated that he has directed all Central Office staff to forward any requests from me, for public information, to Mr. Neal Ramee, I-SS attorney in Raleigh. That certainly sounds like direct supervision of all Central Office staff to me. And remember, Mrs. Holliday is now part of that Central Office Staff. Also, several months ago, Dale Ellis, I-SS Assistant Superintendent, sent me a copy of Mrs. Holliday’s job description and that job description clearly states that a Master’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education is required. It says nothing about being preferred. Again, the Board and Dr. Holliday continue to ignore I-SS policy.