School board approves administrative raises

SUSSEX — Last week, when the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District’s Board of Education agreed to a series of raises and other compensation for teachers and administrators, board member Art Jacobs asked why the board was granting not one but three raises to the director of buildings and grounds, Robert Gomes. As part of its June 24 agenda, the school board approved a salary for Gomes for the 2008-09 school year at a rate of $65,363, effective July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, retroactive to Oct. 15, 2008. The board also approved Gomes’ salary of $67,651 for 2009-10. On top of that, Gomes was granted $10,000 in compensation to be paid in 2009-10, bringing his total compensation to $77,651. Jacobs questioned the number and size of the raises granted to Gomes at a time when taxpayers’ personal spending is tight. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edward Izbicki responded that Mr. Gomes’ contract entitles him to tie his compensation to the cost savings he helped achieve for the school district, with a dollar cap set at $10,000. The board also approved the salary for information technology director Stephen Kronski at a rate of $62,500, effective July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. Business Administrator Christina Riker’s salary was set at $109,700. The board approved all of the compensation recommendations, with Jacobs casting the only dissenting vote against Gomes’ $10,000 increase. An e-mail sent by The Advertiser News to Christina Riker requesting the previous salary levels of the administrators mentioned in this story wasn’t returned before deadline.