Top School Officials

Get Raises

By Eliza Hallabeck

After conducting an executive session to discuss the issue, the Board of Education voted Tuesday, September 20, to award Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Gejda, and school district Business Director Ron Bienkowski raises in the next year of the administrators’ contracts.

Through the vote, Dr Robinson received a 2.5 percent raise that will bring her salary to $174,000, Dr Gejda received a two percent raise that will bring her salary to $148,000, and Mr Bienkowski received a one percent raise that will bring his salary to $144,600, according to Dr Robinson.

Last year Dr Robinson’s salary was reported by the district to be $169,932, Dr Gejda’s was $145,364, and Mr Bienkowski’s was $143,214.

Following the meeting Board of Education Chair William Hart said the school board wanted to bring the administrator’s salaries, particularly Dr Robinson’s, closer to the average salary of those positions in Newtown’s District Reference Group (DRG), state defined like-districts.

There are 19 school district’s in Newtown’s DRG, and Dr Robinson and Mr Hart said her salary is five percent below the average DRG superintendent salary.

“This is the lowest paid superintendent salary in Fairfield County,” said Dr Robinson on Wednesday.

The school board began the yearly process of evaluating the three administrators’ contracts in August.

Mr Hart said Dr Robinson, Dr Gejda, and Mr Bienkowski all have rolling three-year contracts that are renewed each year.

Dr Robinson said while Dr Gejda and Mr Bienkowski received raises last year, she did not.

“I hope people understand that I have been flat for three years,” said Dr Robinson, “as a matter of fact, I went backwards last year.”

Last year, Dr Robinson said, she did not receive a $5,000 performance bonus she had received the previous year. She also said she did not receive a bonus this year, on top of the raise.

Speaking to questions she has fielded, Dr Robinson also pointed out she does not have the district cover her mortgage or rent fees directly. She does, she said, receive mileage reimbursement after she tracks the distance she drives while working. Mr Hart said the mileage reimbursement Dr Robinson receives is capped at a certain amount.

Dr Robinson said she continues to want to work in the district because of all the good things happening educationally.

“We have an exciting leadership team in the district,” Dr Robinson said. “We are doing some exciting things. We are moving this district along. It is exciting.”

When his board was evaluating the administrator’s salaries, Mr Hart said, “We looked at performance, obviously.”

The school board, he said, also paid attention to the difference in salary between Newtown’s superintendent, assistant superintendent, and business director.

Mr Bienkowski, who received a one percent raise, historically, according to Mr Hart, has been paid near the top of the DRG average. Dr Gejda, Mr Hart said, is barely above the salaries of Newtown’s principals.

Last year the principal’s salaries ranged from just over $155,400 to just over $144,000.

Mr Hart said all three administrators are doing a good job in the district. He also said that if a different superintendent was sought, due to Dr Robinson leaving, to fill the position, Newtown would most likely end up hiring a new person for the position at a higher salary to compete with the higher salaries in the area for superintendents.

“[Dr Robinson] is near the bottom,” said Mr Hart, speaking to the DRG salary average, “and she received a zero increase last year.”