AUGUSTA — The school board approved a 1.5 percent raise for Superintendent James Anastasio on Wednesday.

Board members voted, without debate, unanimously in favor of the pay increase.

Anastasio’s current salary is about $118,000 a year. A 1.5 percent increase would bring that to just under $120,000.

The average salary for a superintendent in Kennebec County last school year was $114,427, according to data from the Maine School Management Association, a nonprofit federation that represents school boards and superintendents. The low for the area was $94,940, while the high was $142,819.

Statewide, the average salary for a superintendent is $116,405, ranging from as low as $84,048 to as high as $151,900.

A former Cony High School principal, Anastasio was named interim superintendent in 2013. A year later, the school board extended his contract through June 2018. In 2015 the “interim” part of his title was removed, after voters, the previous November, voted to remove a City Charter requirement that the superintendent of schools live in Augusta. Anastasio is a Gardiner resident.

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Anastasio received a 2.5 percent raise last year, which was approved by board members in a 4-2 vote, with Edward Hastings, a current at-large board member, and Laura Hamilton, a former at-large board member, voting against that 2.5 percent raise.

Board members Wednesday also discussed the planned movement of about 75 elementary school students to different schools within the school district next year. Anastasio said officials sought to balance student populations better among Augusta’s four public elementary schools. Part of that involved moving some students to different schools than the ones they attended last year. He said each elementary school will have around 275 students next school year.

Anastasio said letters were sent out to about 75 families whose children would be moved to a different school next year. He said he received 17 responses from parents seeking to appeal that decision.

He said he responded to each of those parents. While some appeals will be granted, Anastasio said, some parents’ requests for their children to remain in their current schools won’t be able to be filled.

“I fully expect some people will not be happy,” Anastasio said. “It’s unfortunate but to be expected.”

Three elementary teaching positions were eliminated from the proposed school budget this year, which Anastasio said was a major factor in needing to shift students to different schools.

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Most of the students will move from Farrington Elementary to other city elementary schools.

Anastasio said factors used to determine which students would be moved included their proximity to other schools, whether they have siblings in their schools, specialized programming available at different schools, and other factors.

Administrators first asked for volunteers to switch schools, of which there were few.

Anastasio said he would speak to all parents who contacted him to appeal the decision and principals from each of the elementary schools would contact the parents of students who’ll be moved to their schools from another Augusta school.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj


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