P’ville’s Fox-Alter Receives Raise for Next Two School Years

The Pleasantville Board of Education last week approved a raise for Superintendent of Schools Mary Fox-Alter for each of the next two years although several residents were critical of how district officials informed the public.

Trustees voted 4-0 early Friday morning to hike Fox-Alter’s pay by 1.88 percent for both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. In a separate action, they also amended the contract for Assistant Superintendent for Business David Quattrocchi who will see a slightly higher take home pay but the district could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in health insurance costs after he retires.

As part of the resolution to amend Fox-Alter’s contract, a $5,000 annual annuity payment would be discontinued but added to her base salary, which would rise from $225,000 to $230,000. The raises would be based on the $230,000 salary.

Both sides also agreed to postpone making a decision for a year on a contract extension for the superintendent. Originally, the deadline to offer an extension was Jan. 1. Fox-Alter’s contract runs through 2015-16.

Board of Education President Shane McGaffey said that Fox-Alter has not had a raise since taking over the post three-and-a-half years ago and has actually seen her paycheck shrink because she has agreed to pay a percentage of the escalating costs for health insurance coverage.

In its research, the board determined that given her experience and performance, Fox-Alter would qualify for an estimated $255,000 salary in Westchester, McGaffey said.

Trustee Louis Conte said the district is succeeding in areas of performance and the board was pleased with the way she and Quattrocchi helped execute the construction at the high school.

“Are we achieving our goals? We are,” Conte said.

However, a handful of community members who spoke at the Dec. 20 meeting, which had been postponed from Tuesday night after last week’s snowfall, questioned district officials on the apparent lack of transparency in amending the two contracts. The amendments were listed on the board of education’s agenda for the Dec. 17 meeting but no details about the terms were released beforehand.

“Whether or not raises are deserved here is not my concern,” said resident Tom Murphy. “My concern is the way in which the information is put out there.”

Murphy appealed to school officials to consider establishing a community communications committee and to increase the size of the board from five to seven members, which could help delegate its numerous responsibilities more effectively.

A referendum would have to be approved by voters for the size of the board to be increased, said Margo May, an attorney representing the district.

Two other community members also pointed to the need for improved communication and were skeptical about whether the raises were appropriate. Joseph Stargiotti said he finds many of the agendas lacking sufficient detail. He urged officials to have “more expressive” agendas in the future.

Stargiotti then took issue with the raises in a time when many residents haven’t seen pay increases in years and taxes continue to climb.

“We pay taxes through the nose; $20,000 on my house for school (taxes) alone,” Stargiotti said. “That’s a lot of money to a lot of people. People pay a lot of money to be in this school district at this time.”

Another resident, Karen Sicignano, said many in the community have been skeptical of school officials since last summer’s controversy surrounding the dismissal of former high school principal Dawn Bartz.

Fox-Alter said after the meeting that she understands the public’s concerns but that the district does put out all the required information and is continually searching to do a better job.

“Clearly, as you can tell here, I have nothing to hide,” Fox-Alter said. “I’m proud of the job I do here. I’m proud to talk about it in public and I understand some people have concerns.”

McGaffey said the board would continue to explore ways to improve communication.

Quattrocchi, who earns a salary of about $189,000, will receive a 2.35 percent raise next year, then increases of 1.88 percent each of the following two years. He agreed to pay 25 percent of his family health insurance premiums once he retires, should he choose to take the benefits, rather than receive them without cost. McGaffey said in Quattrocchi’s retirement that could save the district many thousands more than it pays out in additional salary.

While the board went ahead with passing its resolutions last Friday following the Dec. 17 meeting postponement, the presentation on the district’s Strategic Plan was rescheduled for the Jan. 14 meeting.