CANTON - The Canton Area School Board gave district superintendent Matt Gordon a vote of confidence this week with the approval of a 5-year contract.
During their meeting, school directors voted unanimously to approve an employment contract for Gordon as superintendent from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2017.
The financial terms of Gordon's contract are as follows, according to a copy of the agreement:
- July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013: $106,000
- July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014: $119,000
- July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015: $119,000
- July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016: $119,000
- July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017: $125,877
District business manager Mark Jannone said there is a freeze in effect under the first year of the contract.
For comparison, the Towanda Area School Board recently hired Steve Gobble as district superintendent, with his salary starting at $110,000 for May 2012 through May 2013. He begins his job next month. He was given a five-year contract with raises of $2,500 each year, according to the district business manager.
In the Troy Area School District, district superintendent W. Charles Young currently earns $115,000 and he will make $117,587 next school year, he noted.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) research staff sorted and compiled salary data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education regarding the average superintendent's salary in Pennsylvania.
For the 2009-10 school year, the average superintendent's salary in Pennsylvania for school districts with 1,280 students or less was $106,748, according to the PSBA website. This was the latest information available from the association.
Canton Area School Board Member Eric Anderson said the consensus of the board was that everyone was happy with Gordon's job performance. He said board members expressed their satisfaction with Gordon in a work session that was held before the regular meeting Thursday.
Anderson noted that Gordon works on his own well, and "just overall seems to make good decisions and seems to handle things under pressure well."
He said Gordon is always personable and pleasant to work with.
In addition, Anderson was pleased with academics under Gordon's leadership.
"We've had to make tough choices with the budget concerns, like everyone else, but we're making Adequate Yearly Progress on the testing and PSSA scores are progressing," he said.
Board members are pleased with Gordon at the helm, Anderson said.
"That's obviously why we gave him a five-year extension."
During the regular meeting, Gordon said he wanted to tell the board, "on a personal note," that the past three years have been both challenging and rewarding, and he spoke of academic gains and improvements.
"The principals have been working very hard. We have a plan, we have a vision."
He thanked the staff for all of their cooperation.
"It's been a good three years. I'm grateful for the opportunity from the board to work in this district for an additional five years."
He added that challenges were ahead, especially with the funding situation from the state.
"I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you very much."
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; email: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.