Most Viewed Stories
Most Commented Stories
Save & Share this Article
Apples to Apples: McKinney's salary in the middle of Victor Valley pack
When news of Victor Elementary School District Superintendent Ralph Baker's $1.2 million contract broke in the Victorville Daily Press, Mark McKinney was the Hesperia Unified School District's assistant superintendent of personnel.
Today, now in the top spot in the HUSD, McKinney has taken another road and has a salary squarely in the middle of the pack for Victor Valley school superintendents.
McKinney's starting salary of $153,797 is the fourth highest among the six Victor Valley superintendents. Baker's 2007-2008 salary of $220,000 is the valley's highest, followed by Arthur Golden, the superintendent of the Snowline Joint Unified School District, whose salary this school year is $164,197. McKinney's salary is only $416 behind Apple Valley Unified School District Superintendent Robert Seevers' salary, $247 ahead of Adelanto School District Superintendent Christopher van Zee's salary and $1,297 ahead of Victor Valley Union High School District Superintendent Julian Weaver's salary.
"I just [used] an existing salary schedule," when he accepted the position, McKinney said Friday. "It wasn't an issue for me, it was very current."
But the story of superintendent compensation doesn't end with their salaries: Baker received a $200,000 signing bonus for staying on with VESD, and other perks are a standard practice.
Like many of his counterparts, VVUHSD's Weaver gets health and pension benefits, an automotive expense account ($600 in his case, $850 in McKinney's, while Baker gets a district vehicle and a credit card to pay for gasoline) and a cell phone account ($75 a month for him, use of a HUSD cell phone for McKinney). But he also gets $600 a month put into a tax-sheltered annuity, a benefit unique to Weaver.
Superintendents in Adelanto and Snowline also get performance bonuses: Adelanto's van Zee gets a bonus of $40,000 annually, assuming "a total of no more than two schools fail to exceed AYP and API targets." Snowline's Golden gets his $16,000 bonus merely "for the unique skills and abilities demonstrated in the performance of his duties."
And, of course, not all Victor Valley school districts are created equal: The HUSD is the Victor Valley's largest school district, with more than 20,000 students. ASD's van Zee oversees a district a little larger than half that, for almost the exact same money.
Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com.
See archived 'Local News' Stories »
| How was Chris Bentley disabled? |
|
| Riley - May 09, 2008 02:58:51 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| Hey idiot, I have never collected a dime of unemployment or disability insurance in my life. And forgot is one word. Hisperia is actually spelled Hesperia. And you are an idiot. |
|
| Chris B. - May 07, 2008 06:09:37 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| Maybe the Hisperia Star should hire Chris Bentley since he needs a job. Oh I for got he's on disability and doesn't need a job. |
|
| Klessric - May 07, 2008 04:53:09 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| Principals' salaries may be in line with up here, but high school principals are paid MUCH MORE in other districts down the hill. Up here, it is not worth it for experienced teachers to become administrators because the per diem pay difference is not much. |
|
| Gus Gus - May 06, 2008 08:06:31 AM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| We're a small outfit here at the Star -- we have an editor, a reporter, an ad sales person and an office manager -- so getting the time to gather up all the documents would have dramatically impacted my ability to do other reporting at the same time.
Chris kindly allowed me to photocopy the 200 or so pages he had assembled. |
|
| Beau Yarbrough - May 05, 2008 01:18:56 PM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| No, I am not. I simply asked a very simple question, why did HUSD HS principals get a 4 percent step increase every year when all other management official, including sups, got a 3 percent. These percents od not increase the COLA that is, seemingly. passed down every year. I was told the reason for the greater increase, which apparently starteed in 2006, was to get HUSD HS principal pay in line with neighboring district. So off I went in search of answers. The answer to the original question was an emphatic no because HUSD HS principals are, and were, the highest paid in the high desert. I presume that the HUSD managment answer I first got was simply misinformed and that the district simply did not know. But HUSD management has lied to me for years, so I went and found out. Trust me, no easy task to pry public documents from bureaucrats who beleive it is "their" information. I encourage all to try it some time. I shared the information with Beau because I think it has public value and Beau is a good writer and reporter. They also are equipped to publish and distribute, something I am working on too. I see a huge need for a ridiculousbloatedbeauracracydotorg site. The information in these documents is mind blowing in their entitlements. Not that educators don't earn their cash, but how much is too much is a reasonable question. I have offered the information to HUSD officials as well, if they are interested. So they can make informed decisions and provide accurate information when asked. Once again HUSD, you really are working for the people of California and you need to be responsive to them. |
|
| Chris B. - May 05, 2008 11:06:02 AM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| Thank you to Chris Bentley for taking the time to organize the facts. The one fact I wondered about is, what is the size of the district compared to the Superintendent's salary? I have heard Hesperia is the largest district, is that true? Lastly, why did Chris Bentley have to gather the facts? Is he becoming a Guest Reporter for the Hesperia Star? |
|
| ML - May 05, 2008 08:55:48 AM | Remove Comment |
| | |
| The public documents used to assemble the Apples to Apples package of stories were originally collected by Hesperia Star reader Chris Bentley. |
|
| Beau Yarbrough - May 02, 2008 04:51:28 PM | Remove Comment |
