Port Resident Complains About Superintendent Raises at Board Meeting

The Port Washington Board of Education meeting lasted three hours Tuesday night in the auditorium, and residents wanting to be heard waited for an opportunity to speak.

Resident Hank Ratner claimed he hadn't heard the board open community comments earlier. He was irate about approved raises for the three assistant superintendents.

“I’d like to poll the board, beginning with seat number one,” Ratner said. “Seat number one, did you vote yes or no on the raises for the three assistant superintendents?”

No answer.

“Seat number two, did you vote yes or no on the raises for the three assistant superintendents?" Ratner asked again, with no answer.

This continued on down the line of the six seated board members — none of whom answered. President Karen Sloan informed Ratner, “Sir, just to reiterate, this is a time for community comments, not a discussion or polling session of the board.”

But Ratner continued, “Let me add that I do not intend one bit to demean the assistant superintendents…I think they’re fine people and employees, but I will tell you that I personally find it unconscionable that I come to meetings and I hear you telling us that we’re facing horrific budget problems and that we might have to look to cut 30 to 40 teachers and the programs, and yet you approve — I assume unanimously — raises to people who, again with all respect, who have gotten raises the past two or three years in a row.”  

He then said it was “outrageous” that the board never addresses his questions, and that he expects an e-mail reply.

Later in the meeting, Superintendent Geoffrey Gordon addressed Ratner's complaint indirectly by saying, “I will say this to anyone who listens, loud and clear, every non-alignment employee got a 2 percent raise last time and I have not responded to the vitriolic e-mails that have come to the board. Every one of the non-aligned employees, from the technical to the people who work with our computers who make $40,000 a year to the various people who make low salaries, to our assistant superintendents who work hard and do all kinds of expert things to save dollars for this community.

“For people to criticize the assistant superintendents — and I say this as a person who has taken no raise voluntarily and stand proud of that — that in this community, you people should be proud of the fact that we have a great faculty, we have great students, we have a terrific community and we have good people — even those who constructively criticize — but let’s make sure we understand what we have. This is a great school district and we’re going to get better.”

Later in the meeting Ratner returrned to the podium when the community comments period reopened.

Ratner began by saying that he and Gordon have a good personal relationship.

“I made no criticism of the superintendents; as a matter of fact I said that Dr. [Nicholas] Stirling, Dr. [Kathleen] Mooney and Mrs. [Mary] Callahan are doing a wonderful, exemplary job,” Ratner said. “And you talk about vitriol and criticism and I resent that and from man to man…I’ll give you an apology, but I want the record to say I didn’t criticize the superintendents, but I will criticize to the mountaintops the decision made by the school board.”

The next school board meetings will be on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. at Schreiber High School and Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. at Weber Middle School.