Citing such things as innovation, partnerships and vision, the Marysville Board of Education extended a new contract to superintendent Diane Mankins at Thursday night’s meeting.
“I feel our district is very much on the cuting edge,” board member Nan Savidge said.
The five-year contract will pay Mankins $160,000 per year, and will increase by 3 percent in both the second and third years. The contract will reopen in years four and five for negotiation of compensation.
The contract also sets out a $15,000 annual annuity, a $100 a month cell phone stipend and stipulates that the district will cover the superintendent’s payment into the State Teachers Retirement System.
Mankins was hired in 2012 at an annual salary of $138,000. That three-year contract was renewed in 2014, a year prior to its completion. Mankins second contract was for four years with an starting salary of $140,760.
The board is allowed to enter contract negotiations more than a year ahead of the contract’s conclusion.
Similarly, the board opened contract talks this summer despite Mankins’ current contract’s expiration coming in August of 2018. The board’s deadline to finalize the contract would have been May of 2018.
Board president Sue Devine said after the meeting that the decision to renew the contract made sense for both the district and the superintendent. She said the board based the compensation package on a salary survey of area districts. She said the package agreed upon places Mankins in middle of the compensation range for area superintendents.
Devine said she could not recall if the board or administration first brought up the idea of opening the contract negotiations.
Devine said that the district must be committed to retaining quality staff, including the superintendent. She said Mankins is getting statewide, and even national, attention for some of the initiatives in Marysville and that could lead to her being lured away if she does not receive competitive compensation.
Devine said the early renewal of the contract also serves as a vote of confidence in the job performance of the superintendent.
“If you are happy with what someone is doing, you don’t wait until the last minute,” Devine said.
Other board members at the meeting echoed their support for the superintendent. Member Amy Powers was absent from the meeting.
Brian Luke, a member of the board, said Mankins has helped make Marysville a “jewel” among Central Ohio Districts.
Board member Dick Smith said the superintendent’s innovative programs have made Marysville a “destination school system” where people want to locate. Savidge cited Mankins’ vision for the district.
“I think it’s just the right time to do the right thing,” Smith said.
Mankins said she appreciated the board’s vote of confidence.
“It’s a great place to be and it’s going to get even better,” Mankins said. “I promise.”
Earlier in the meeting some of the district’s new innovations were on display as Marysville Early College High School senior Jesse Boomstra made a presentation to the board about his internship with Honda of America. Boomstra was the first ever high school intern to work with the automaker.
Boomstra is involved in the engineering pathway at the school and worked with Honda engineers for about 32 hours in the 2016-17 school year. He detailed the various departments including assembly, weld and paint, where he viewed engineers at work.
Boomstra said he would have liked more hands-on opportunities at the plant and would like to see the school’s curriculum align more closely with the future jobs Honda was need.
In other business, the board:
-Viewed the new fundraising pamphlets for the stadium renovation project.
-Learned that preliminary reports indicate the district has met eight of 25 indicators on the new state report card. Mankins said the report is not positive, but is in line with difficulties other districts are having with the indicators.
-Learned that 112 Marysville teachers took part in 19 professional development courses offered by district over the summer.
-Approved a new board of education work plan and set of goals.
–Approved a new district organizational chart.