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The Haverhill School Committee on Thursday night sent proposals for an assistant superintendent position and administration salary increases to its Finance Subcommittee for further study.
Haverhill Public Schools previously conducted an “extensive four-month search,” according to a Sept. 10 letter from Superintendent Margaret Marotta.
“Given the challenges we faced in securing a suitable candidate, the search committee comprised of the School Committee, leadership team, principals, business office and managerial staff decided to report the position with a more focused scope of responsibilities,” the letter read.
The scope of the position was reduced and reported under the title of chief financial officer. Marotta writes it is a “strategic move to support the financial sustainability of the school district in these difficult budget times.” Marotta said the position, which had a posted salary range of up to $150,000, was created “within the footprint of the funding that we had.”
“There was no additional funding to create an assistant superintendent position so it is virtually impossible to post a position without funding for it,” she added.
As WHAV reported first, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Michael J. Pfifferling left Haverhill Public Schools the post of assistant superintendent of finance and operations for Marblehead Public Schools for the 2024 school year.
The salary for Pfifferling’s position in Haverhill was previously budgeted at $181,157—$30,000 more than the proposed CFO position. That $30,000, according to the letter from Marotta, will be redistributed among Chief of Teaching, Learning and Leading Bonnie Antkowiak, Director of Title I and Community Outreach Dianne Connolly and Safe & Supportive Schools Liaison, Title 9 Coordinator Maureen Irons.
“The only solution I could see there was to redistribute those duties to existing staff and to ask the School Committee to consider how they would like to fund those positions,” she said.
Marotta suggested the committee approve a title change for Antkowiak to assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and leading.
“I would be concerned should I be lucky enough to win the lottery or unlucky enough to get hit by a bus, there is nobody to take over at this point on paper for this position,” she said.
Marotta said she believes Haverhill should have at least one assistant superintendent, “but many would argue more.”
Committee members questioned the proposal, citing significant concerns with reassigning duties to existing administrators. “Anytime we ask staff to take on additional responsibilities, it’s only fair to compensate them somehow,” Committee member Mikaela Lalumiere said. “I think I’d like to make sure this becomes a district-wide philosophy for all of our staff.”
Ward 5 Committee member Jill Story said she had “significant concerns” with the proposal. “These are very expensive positions for the district already as it is, so we’re either adding on responsibilities to people who can take them on because they don’t have enough work and we’re paying them a lot, or they can take on that work and I don’t imagine how that would be possible to be taking on more considering what I would assume what is already the job responsibilities,” she said.
Story said the district may not have the level of accountability “we should be having.”
“We’re adding money to our highest paid people in the district when ESPs and other workers have not seen a raise in over two years and teachers are being limited in their printing.”
The School Committee voted to send the proposal to the Finance Subcommittee for further vetting. Committee member Story cast the dissenting vote.