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Friday, June 4, 2010

New Contract for Superintendent Marks

A new contract between Norwalk Public Schools and incoming Superintendent Susan F. Marks will make her one of Norwalk’s highest paid public officials.

NPS released a copy of Marks’ contract Friday afternoon. The contract was included in a packet of information that BOE members receive before every meeting.

Marks’ 3-year contract says that she will earn $200,000 in her first year. She will also receive a $30,000 annuity. For subsequent years Marks’ salary will be based on the outcome of an annual evaluation that assesses her personal performance and district goals.

Marks, who currently resides in Rockville, Maryland, will be reimbursed for “reasonable expenses” she incurs for moving to Norwalk. She will also receive $8,000 for moving expenses spread over four months.

Norwalk’s last fulltime Superintendent Sal Corda made a base salary of almost $185,000 in 2008, his last full year here. Unlike Corda or the interim superintendents that filled-in this year, there is no mention in the contract of Marks receiving a car allowance.

The new contract specifies that each year the BOE and Marks will try to meet by August 1, to discuss district goals and objectives for the upcoming school year, and will have these finalized no later than August 31 of each year.

These goals and objectives will include: a) student performance as measured by test scores; b) curriculum development in accordance with state standards; c) teacher and administrator contributions; d) the effective use of non-certified personnel; e) administrative and financial management of the school system; and f) parental and community relations.

To conduct her yearly evaluation the BOE and Marks will jointly develop a system that grades her on how effectively she achieves the above goals. It will also take into account her communication and working relationship with the BOE, district personnel, and the overall community. Marks’ leadership and the quality of educational programs that she initiates during the school year will also be judged.

The agreement between Marks and the BOE is subject to Marks’ credentials being certified by the state Department of Education or her obtaining a waiver by the Commissioner of Education.

The agreement also has to be approved by the BOE, which at this point seems like a formality.

Markes is slated to begin her new job on July 1, 2010.
Posted by Moina Noor
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16 comments:

  1. I think goals for the upcoming year should be finalized before August 31 of the upcoming year. That's a lofty, comprehensive list that allows no time for the teachers to adjust as necessary before the kids walk into the classroom. This goal should be July 31. Just my opinion. I hope she is ready to get moving and fast!
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  2. So the bottom line is that she will be making $230,000 in her first year, not including moving expenses. That's a lot more than Corda.
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  3. Did Dr. Corda do such a good job that anyone should want to compare the new superintendent's salary to his? Then again, Dr. Corda never moved, and so he wouldn't have qualified for moving expenses anyway.

    The Norwalk BoE also paid Victor Herbert's airfare when he flew home to AZ several times during the year he was in CT. I'm not sure if they agreed to pay relocation expenses.
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  4. Wait a minute here. $240 thousand, just shy of ONE QUARTER of a MILLION US DOLLARS.

    A year?

    And CT DOE has to give a thumbs up or down on the credentials or issue Marks a waiver? Guess the NPS Board didn't do their homework,(again).

    We all wish Marks the best and will support her if she is half of what the board has promised us. But honestly it feels a little like walking away with the keys in your hand from a used car dealer. You dont really know what you just bought, well, wise men and women do. And its a sure bet the guy you bought the car from won't be there tomorrow when the lemon changes to its true colors.

    Taxi yellow.

    Looking at the current Board, as a whole, one gets an uneasy sick feeling that its going to get worse before it gets better.

    Worse?

    Worse than the current dodo pile?

    No wonder that nauseous feeling is rising.

    Can we afford pay any, one single person a quarter million?

    Can we afford to gamble on another lost generation?

    Stay tuned...
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  5. The waiver from the CT SDE is because Dr. Marks (as would be true of almost anyone coming from another state) doesn't have the CT 093 (superintendent of schools) endorsement. She may have to take a course or two in order to satisfy the requirement, and she may also (not sure though) have to take the C.A.T., which is the test that CT school administrators have to pass. It is not a difficult test -- although I wish it were. The test is given only 3 or 4 times a year, and she will have a year to satisfy that requirement.

    So the waiver doesn't mean that the board failed to do its homework. The board did the right thing in hiring from outside the school system.
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  6. If I am not mistaken, Dr. Corda's salary was a separate item from whatever his annuity was. I'm not quite sure from the article whether the $200,000 includes the annuity or not. I seem to remember someone saying at the BOE Finance meeting that Dr. Marks' salary did include the annuity, but I am not 100% sure.
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  7. Great, now we are hiring a superintendent that doesn't have the proper qualifications. Not to worry just has to take a course or to.

    It must be in the food supply.

    Stacey Lore is in jail because she didnt have the qualifications. So maybe if Lore could afford an attorney than Lore's attorney could ask for a waiver for Lore?

    We are, without doubt, class A, number one, fools.
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  8. I am often critical of the BoE, but they didn't do anything wrong in hiring someone who doesn't yet have the credential to be superintendent. It's done all the time and it is entirely legal. Moreover, it's entirely responsible.
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  9. 7:50 p.m. - Are you saying that you want to start the search process all over again???

    What one state requires for certification, another may not. Just look at the variations in the requirements for driver's licenses some time.

    And, please remember, until last month some time, there was no State law regarding special education accredidation. That happened AFTER Stacy Lore's case started. I think Stacy Lore is in jail not because she didn't have what was required, but because she lied about the accredidations that she did have.
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  10. I'm simply happy to have someone in charge now, and to see Dr. Nast go about his ways. I think there are some serious issues that Marks will be inheriting, and hope that she can bring closure to some of the messiness in the NPS.
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  11. Let's see, so far as I've been following Norwalk's story, the BOE turned on Sloan, Herbert was bought out, Corda was sent out, Pappallo was not liked and now Nast is shown the good-bye Norwalk mat. So what's in store for Marks??????
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  12. Interesting comment, 11:27. I'd guess that much of the backbiting/faultfinding begins in, or is at least fostered from within the central office. The reasons? Some of it may be unhappiness with the way things turned out, some of it may be because it keeps the focus on the "superintendent du jour," and away from the rest of the administration.
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  13. The culture that has been created and cultivated over the last 15+ years in the NPS makes it almost impossible for anyone to succeed in the superintendent position. It is going to take many more than 3 years to reel in the damage, and add to that the herculean task of "cleaning the stables". Let's face it, this really is the highlight and twilight of Dr. Marks' career. There is a "messiah" mentality at work that dooms many from the start. You just can't please the ever-increasing number of special interests in education. Everybody wants to be taken care of first, and the kids are often at the end of the line. However, Norwalk is far from alone in this regard.
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  14. 11:59, I disagree. The faultfinding doesn't begin or isn't fostered from within central office. The public, or at least the public on this site, are the best faultfinders of central office people I have ever encountered.
    Yes, there are folks at central office who are unhappy and there are folks who are backbiting. Have they reason to be unhappy? I would say absolutely. There has been no effective superintendent since, well... I can't remember. Find a corporation with a great leader and you will find happier employees. Will Susan Marks, our new leader, be able to change this? I honestly don't know if it is possible. I can only hope.

    Backbiting? That's what occurs when there is no leadership in the top position.

    When the AP tries to reign central office people in and when he tries to make them accountable, there is no support. Not only is there no support, but folks are quick to call out 'harassment' or whatever other union term comes to mind. It's embarrassing that these charges are even allowed to be heard as often as they are. Holding people accountable is not harassment...In fact, accusing central office leaders of 'harassment' is beginning to look like harassment of central office leaders.

    Susan Marks, if you read these blogs, I hope you support your people who are really attempting to hold administrators accountable. If you do not consistently support your team, don't count on change.
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  15. 6:29 - Backbiting occurs when there are small-minded people who don't understand the dynamics of effective human interaction and who therefore can't understand why people don't respond well to them. Leadership isn't all about power; it's much more about the ability to inspire.

    Central office people are unhappy? No one is forcing anyone to work there. If they are truly good at what they do, why don't they look for jobs where they might feel appreciated?

    You seem to be saying that the leadership void is only at the top, but there is the need for real leadership at all levels within the system.
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  16. Kinda feels like we are hearing the same speel from the board here as we do from BP.

    "Its under control, relax, we know what we are doing."

    Right and today the DOW will jump 2,000 points.

    BP has no understanding of the enormity of what they have done and currently are not doing. The damage will be severe and long lasting. As is also the case here in the district.

    Here some folks deny the exsistence of serious issues and spin that worn out record, "we know what we are doing. Everything is kosher, eat your pickle and move along".

    Yep, 250 Thousand for 250 days of work should surely do the trick. Right?

    If she doesn't get a car does she get a whip and a bull horn?

    Does Marks really know what the deal here is?

    What needs to be done?

    Does a couple of meets, in basically social settings, really give anyone the true feeling of the weather? The enormity of the challnges?
    The complete lack of any viable accountable command structure?

    After some research, it is apparent that, indeed Dr. Marks does not fully grasp the comlexeties and challenges our district is dealing with. The move for Marks was a desperate one because her job was cut from the budget down yonder.

    We are desperate, she is desperate.

    A match made in heaven?

    Or, much more wasted time clearing the tracks from the repeated train wrecks?

    Hope Marks packs her suprehero cape.

    Gonna come in handy for sure.
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