St. Paul school leaders to receive pay increases

A stripped-down proposal to raise the pay of St. Paul school district leaders won the unanimous approval of school board members Tuesday night.

The board previously split, 3-to-3, on an earlier version of the wages-and-benefits package when it was presented for action in January.

At that time, the two-year proposal went beyond the 1.5% and 2% increases given to union employees by also providing $500 longevity increases and a change in the salary range for assistant superintendents.

The new deal is limited to wages and benefits and is expected to cost about $140,000 over a two-year period ending June 30, said Kenyatta McCarty, the district's human resources director.

Covered under the plan are the 26 members of Superintendent Joe Gothard's administrative team.

The superintendency group is not represented by a union, leaving many of the elements of its agreements to mirror those negotiated by the district's bargaining units.

McCarty said the earlier proposal would have cost about $153,000 over two years. In January, the district told the Star Tribune the deal would cost nearly $1.3 million, but a spokesman said later the figure was incorrect.

Anthony Lonetree