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St. Charles District 303 School Board members Aug. 7 approved a contract amendment for Superintendent Paul Gordon that includes a pay raise and more paid time off.
The amended contract, which expires June 30, 2025, was approved unanimously without discussion.
Under the amended contract, Gordon will receive a 3% raise from last year’s base salary of $260,000 and will be paid $267,800 for the 2023-24 contract year.
Three percent is the maximum raise allowed in Gordon’s contract. He also will receive five additional vacation days for a total of 25 this year.
The amended contract also details several new performance goals and deliverables expected to be fulfilled by the superintendent over the 2023-24 contract year.
Key goals include improving academic performance, developing and implementing new boundaries and the renovation of elementary facilities.
Gordon is expected to develop an action plan to address underperforming students across the district and provide recommendations and an implementation timeline to the board by November.
Other academic deliverables include implementing algebra as an eighth grade core class and reviewing the high school course catalog and making recommendations for improvement to the board by November.
The contract amendment also details the next steps and timeline for changes to facilities. According to the contract, the board is to take action on a funding method by September and receive construction bids this fall.
Construction work and renovations at Lincoln Elementary, Fox Ridge Early Childhood and Haines Center are to be completed by August 2024.
Another goal in the superintendent’s contract is to correct the uneven distribution of students across the district by reorganizing enrollment boundaries.
With the reopening of Fox Ridge as an elementary school and the closing of Lincoln as a school, new boundaries will have to be created in order to ensure schools are operating at the optimal utilization levels, according to the contract. Gordon is to develop a timeline for the boundary changes and adequately inform the the board, staff and community in time for the board to take action on new boundaries by March 2024 for implementation in the 2024-25 school year.
The contract also identifies budget, community engagement and safety and security goals, including active shooter and other emergency training for staff and administration provided by the St. Charles Police Department.