Raises at Sullivan West

By KIMBERLY M. WEYANDT

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — At the first meeting following the adoption of a contingency budget, Sullivan West School District Superintendent Alan Derry got a raise.

Seven Sullivan West community members gathered for the 5:00 p.m. special meeting on Wednesday, June 29 and waited in the cafeteria while board members were in executive session for over two hours.

When the public part of the meeting that lasted about five minutes began, board member Angela Daley, Derry and Business Administrator Tony Rexhouse were not present.

In a seven-to-one vote, with member Shawn Bailey as the nay vote, the board authorized a yearly 2.5 percent salary raise to Derry for each of the two remaining years of his three-year contract. The 2.5 percent represents a $3,725 raise in addition to his $150,000 per year salary. According to Derry’s contract, “The exact amount of gross annual salary for the period from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007 shall be determined annually by the Board by August 1 of each year, after evaluation of the performance of the Superintendent, in writing, as described in Articles 12, 13, and 14 of the agreement.”

An additional $10,500 had been budgeted into the contingency budget for the superintendent’s increase and according to Sandler, the remainder of the unexpended budgeted money will go into a general funds portion of the budget.

Another seven-to-one vote, with Bailey as the nay, the board also authorized a $170 hourly rate for the district’s attorney, Shaw and Perelson LLP, to defend the district against the petition of Shannon Bailey and Nikki Maxwell. The petition accused the district of failing to properly post and advertise the public hearing held on June 2 according to State Education Laws 16:32 and 2:64 and a failure to study and research the impact closing the schools will have on the district. Board President Richard Sandler predicted defending the case would takesomewhere between 10 and 20 hours. In a unanimous decision, the board voted to appropriate the monies necessary to fund provisions for the 2005/2010 collectively negotiated agreement of the teachers. The exact figures will not be available until released by the teacher’s union.

The board’s next meeting will be held on July 7 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium. The board will reorganize and a resolution to rescind the decision to the closing of the Narrowsburg and Delaware Valley school is on the agenda.