Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustees on Wednesday will consider creating a new deputy superintendent position and approving a three-year contract for the role.
The district says the new position would replace the assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and professional development position, which tops out at step 7 on the salary schedule at $194,178 annually.
If approved, longtime administrator Mark Herbst would fill the position with a salary of $228,000, plus a $6,270 stipend for a master’s degree and benefits. His contract would run through June 2029.
According to his LinkedIn page, Herbst currently serves as associate superintendent of student support services with Modesto City Schools.
The Pajaronian reached out late Friday to district officials and Board President Carol Turley for comment.
District officials say the proposed position would consolidate oversight of curriculum, instruction, human resources and finance under a single cabinet-level administrator reporting directly to Superintendent Heather Contreras.
According to the proposed job description, the deputy superintendent would serve as the superintendent’s primary adviser and act as chief executive in her absence.
Contreras currently earns roughly $290,000 annually, in addition to medical benefits and a $600 monthly vehicle allowance.
The discussion will be immediately followed by a resolution finalizing layoffs for 60 certificated employees, including teachers and counselors, and roughly 50 classified employees, including instructional assistants and mental health clinicians.
•••The PVUSD Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. in the District Office boardroom, 294 Green Valley Road in Watsonville. For information, visit bit.ly/4ePwoTd
Of course she is bringing someone she knows over to PVUSD. I’m assuming he isn’t bilingual just like her. This is not what we need in our district. And how does she get a vehicle stipend?! It’s not like she is really driving around to various sites visiting schools. Our district is in a budget crisis yet in this article I can see many ways to save unnecessary spending. Open your eyes trustees!!! Whose wellbeing are you supporting? Schools, site administrators, teachers, and students need your help!!!!!
BINGO!
I work at a local school and have never even seen the superintendent. She hasn’t made herself known to the staff and community, unlike the previous superintendent. I am very much surprised by the $600 vehicle stipend, which she is obviously not using. Shame on you PVUSD board members for even considering this position!
Yea, the superintendent gets a car stipend. She travels school to school on the daily. A car stipend for a cabinet member is standard. Anecdotal evidence that “you’ve never seen her at your school” is not proof she’s never at your school.
Companies that have 2,000 employees, like the district, pay their CEOs millions in salary per year.
It took nearly a year to get a new superintendent because experienced professionals know their worth and don’t want to come to a district that underpays its teachers, administrators, custodians, bus drivers, and secretaries.
This position is absolutely not needed. We need our teachers to be paid a fair wage, we need our support staff to have positions that are not constantly getting cut back. Take care of the needs of our students now and not later!
I want to see financial facts about how the district is reducing spending at the district office and maintaining direct services to students at schools. I can’t believe that the current decisions are so brazenly upside down with zero accountability to taxpayers and the community. Shame on this superintendent and board.
It doesn’t matter what any of you think. The board is going to hire this guy with your tax money, then with a straight face they will cut 60 teachers and cut everyone’s healthcare because there is no money left. You will just deal with it because you have to. The superintendent may not be from here, but she sure knows how to give our money away to people from all over the state. Also, they are about to secretly close a preschool. This ship is sinking.
I am sorry that I was right about the school board. I would be a lot happier if I had been wrong.