Minneapolis school board approves superintendent contract with Lisa Sayles-Adams

Minneapolis Public Schools officially has a new superintendent who will start in February and help lead the process to transform the district.

School board members on Tuesday approved two contracts with Lisa Sayles-Adams and passed a resolution to kick off a "school transformation process," which could include closing or consolidating schools.

Sayles-Adams, now superintendent of Eastern Carver County schools, will start her Minneapolis job on Feb. 5 and get paid $107,000 to serve in the role until the end of June. On July 1, her three-year contract will begin with a $266,000 salary. She'll also receive a $600 monthly allowance for using her personal vehicle for work. Her salary for year three is set at $276,000.

The board voted 8-1 to approve her contract, less than two weeks after members selected Sayles-Adams as the finalist for the job and agreed they wanted to offer her a "regionally competitive" salary.

"It is going to be our responsibility to work with and provide support to Dr. Sayles Adams," Chair Sharon El-Amin said to the board. "We totally plan to support and make this transition as smooth as possible."

Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox and Ed Graff, the district's most recent permanent superintendent, both earned $230,000 a year — about 15% less than what Sayles-Adams will receive in the first year of her three-year contract. Cox's interim superintendent contract will expire Feb. 4, and she'll be offered a contract as an associate superintendent, which was her previous role, said El-Amin.

The superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools is set to receive a $261,120 salary next school year and $266,342 the following year, according to his contract. The superintendent of the Anoka-Hennepin school district earned $270,000 in his first year on the job.

Board Member Ira Jourdain voted against Sayles-Adams' contract, citing concerns about the rise in salary and offering yearly salary increases "regardless of job performance."

Discussing the superintendent's compensation at a meeting earlier this month, Board Member Joyner Emerick asked how the salaries for the district's teachers and support staff compare to surrounding districts. The district is in ongoing negotiations with the union representing Minneapolis teachers and support staff.

Greta Callahan, president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, said the boost in salary for the district's superintendent proves the board sees the value in the position.

"It's time for them to see the value in ours," Callahan said, adding that she hopes the union can reach contract agreements before Sayles-Adams starts in February.

The state's fourth-largest school district faces several challenges, including a looming financial crisis, and Sayles-Adams and other district leaders will face tough decisions about whether to close schools amid declining enrollment.

According to the school transformation resolution, approved Tuesday, a transformed district would be "fiscally and operationally sustainable with resources invested for the greatest direct benefit of students," which may require schools to be repurposed, consolidated or closed.

To begin the process, the district will conduct a physical space study to look at school building capacity.

Board members repeatedly thanked Cox for her leadership over the last 16 months.

"I don't know how she works as much and as hard as she does," Emerick said. "She goes where our children need her to go, and that will be the expectation of our new superintendent."