Superintendent under the microscope Superintendent under the microscope (May 07, 2004)

Evaluation not likely to lead to pay raise

By Julie O'Shea

From winning a $1.6-million parcel tax election to beefing up school district communication skills and overseeing the competition of the strategic plan, it has been a busy year for Mountain View-Whisman Superintendent Jim Negri.

The school board is in the process of evaluating Negri's performance and will likely release a short statement about the process June 3. Negri began his tenure with Mountain View-Whisman in July 2002. He has not received a raise in salary, and there is no guarantee that the cash-strapped district will pad his paychecks any time soon.

With the district's budget still in limbo and teacher union contract talks set to begin next week, at least a few PTA parents are saying this year might not be the time for administrative raises.

"I don't think we are in the position to give anybody a raise," said Castro School PTA President Roberto Luna.

And Taylor House, Bubb Elementary PTA co-president, said teachers need to be first on the list for more money.

"If the teachers aren't getting anything, then we wouldn't want to see administrators getting anything," House said.

But a salary adjustment for Negri isn't part of the discussion right now, said school board President Rose Filicetti. Negri currently makes $160,000 a year and receives $600 a month for travel and cell phone costs. His contract doesn't stipulate that he gets a raise in his first year on the job.

"Part of it is seeing where we are in the budget process," Negri said. The evaluation has been "an ongoing process. It's really looking at how well we are running as a district."

Apparently things seem to be running pretty smoothly.

"I think he has done a good job of unifying the district," said Slater PTA President Elaine Spence. Mountain View-Whisman is a product of two districts which merged in 2001, and "there was a lot of 'us and them,' 'us and them.' I've seen a lot of that go away," Spence said. "We are really one school district now."

Negri's evaluation is considered a personnel issue and is conducted in closed session by the five board trustees. However, Negri said the discussion has included a few key issues -- namely the implementation of the strategic plan, student academic achievement, fiscal stability, leadership skills and communication.

"He's been accessible to all of us when we've asked for an audience, and that is very commendable," Luna said. "In general, I think things are moving forward."

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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