Beechwood Independent Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Stacy spoke to the board of education Monday night, discussing a recent Enquirer article that examined his 28 percent pay raise while teachers’ salaries were frozen last year.
Board members expressed their support for Stacy and his compensation.
“The board has never been more confident in the leadership we’ve hired or the goals we have set,” said Board President Jeanne Berger who read from a statement drafted by board members. “During Superintendent Stacy’s tenure, our district has undergone a total transformation that has benefitted every student, teacher and staff member. In late 2019 and early 2020, when other schools tried to recruit him away, we were able to give him a salary package that kept him with Beechwood to finish the overhaul he started six years ago. The next phases of facility upgrades, academic advancement and long-term budget planning are very important to our community, and the board believes it has the right person for the job in Dr. Mike Stacy.”
Stacy was hired in 2015 at a salary of $135,000. In January last year, his salary was increased for the fourth time to $228,000 to oversee the district of 1,400 students. He is the highest-paid superintendent in Northern Kentucky.
“I don’t particularly care for increases in benefits being paid in ways that make it hard for the public to see,” Stacy said in a written statement. “I think our results speak for themselves, and I would put Beechwood up against any school system in Kentucky.”
Berger noted that the new compensation package was offered to Stacy prior to the COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival in the state.
Then, when the pandemic took hold, and there was uncertainty about the district’s finances, the district’s finance director recommended that the board freeze salaries.
“We gave Dr. Stacy the raise before the pandemic,” Berger said. “It was not his decision to freeze the salaries.”
Stacy said that there was a choice to freeze salaries or lay off staff.
Berger said that Stacy said that he would be transparent about other districts making offers to him, and that he has kept that promise.Â
Stacy said that the district is committed to the best education possible for Beechwood students.
“In the six years that I have been here, we have seen tremendous growth,” Stacy said. “We started all-day kindergarten and all-day preschool programs, we have installed a system to ensure every K-12 student is equipped with a quality computer device. We have increased advanced placement dual credit and elective class offerings to give students an even higher ceiling for their personal academic achievements. We were fortunate to be able to add supplemental academic services for any struggling middle school and high school students.”
Stacy noted the district’s EDGE program, where schools partner with dozens of businesses and six universities to offer hands-on learning, as well as the district’s newer safety upgrades, such as a new entrance at the high school.
The superintendent praised the district for its budget management.
“I have always looked to the future, and tried to learn from the past,” he stated. “I wouldn’t be the leader you hired if I didn’t look to the future.”
At Monday’s virtual board meeting, Stacy also talked about support offered to teachers during the pandemic. Teachers, he said, were granted five days of planning time March 16 through 20 without students in order to adjust to non-traditional instruction (NTI), and were also offered three sick days during spring break in exchange for continued NTI planning. All staff members were given three emergency days at the end of last school year, he said.
Teachers who work summer school this year will be paid their daily wage instead of the current rate of $32 per hour.
Stacy also went over the district’s reopening expenses related to COVID-19, which totaled more than $730,000 for increased staffing, emergency days, new technology, health supplies, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Federal funds awarded through last year’s CARES Act ($326,560) will help the district keep six positions that it had explored eliminating.
The district is also adding an additional guidance counselor to head a department dedicated to students who suffered during isolation. Staff will also receive their regularly scheduled raises this year, Stacy said.
“The board is more than happy with Dr. Stacy’s work,” Berger’s statement from the board read. “He has performed flawlessly and exceeded our expectations. He is worth every penny and then some, given the millions he saved the school district in efficiencies, the academic and athletics success stories, and his overall management of the school system.”
Written by Patricia A. Scheyer, RCN contributor