Bethel chief to take pay cut

The Bethel School Board thinks it’s getting a good bang for its buck when it comes to Superintendent Colt Gill, who keeps working long hours for less.

In addition to taking 13.6 unpaid furlough days for the second straight year, as all the district’s year-round administrators and managers recently agreed to, Gill suggested to the board this month that he take an additional 1.5 percent cut — dropping his salary from a furlough-adjusted $125,000 in 2010-11 to $123,150 in 2011-12.

Since the 13.6 furlough days is equal to 5.23 percent of his salary, the cuts equal almost a 7 percent pay cut for Gill from the salary of about $132,000 he’d be making without concessions.

Gill, who just began his sixth year with the district on July 1, said Wednesday that he suggested the additional 1.5 percent salary cut “just because I felt like I needed to do as much, if not more, as everyone else.”

And not only will Gill take 13.6 furlough days again, he plans to work them anyway.

Again.

“I found that working them helped me keep up,” Gill said of the recently concluded 2010-11 school year. “It’s really about being part of a team. Things need to get done. And we need to get back to a full school year.”

For the second straight year, Bethel teachers will take 10 unpaid furlough days in 2011-12, once again working a 182-day school year. Seven of the 10 furlough days will be lost instructional teaching days.

Bethel school employees agreed in April to take concessions for a third straight year to help the district balance a $6.45 million budget shortfall. Instead of traditional collective bargaining with its unions, Gill met with employee group leaders beginning in January, at weekly 6:30 a.m. meetings, to hammer out an agreement on concessions.

Although he gets 20 vacation days a year, Gill said he rarely uses them. He said he has taken one real vacation since becoming superintendent on July 1, 2006, — a three-week excursion with his family to Peru and the Galapagos Islands in 2008. Other than that, he might take a Friday and Monday off and make a long camping weekend during the summer.

Gill is known throughout the district as a workaholic, a guy whose day often begins at 4 a.m., replying to e-mails he never had time to answer the day before.

Last week, he received another glowing annual review from the school board — with the exception of one little worry.

“If there is one area of concern it might be the need for Colt to more equitably balance personal life with professional commitments,” board Chairman Alan Laisure wrote in the review. “The board is pleased with Colt’s dedication to the job and allegiance to Bethel School District, and we realize being superintendent can be a 24-7 commitment. Yet, the board would also be pleased if Colt scheduled more quality time away from work and spent it with his family, friends and favorite activities.”

In nearby districts, meanwhile, Springfield School District Superintendent Nancy Golden agreed in May to take a 5 percent salary cut for 2011-12, going from $134,580 in 2010-11 to $127,851 in 2011-12.

The Eugene School District hired Superintendent Sheldon Berman this year at a record $180,000 annual salary, despite also having a record $21.7 million budget shortfall. Berman is expected to earn less than that, however, when concessions for district administrators are finalized in August.