Comstock Superintendent Refuses Raise Despite High Grades From Board

December 14, 2009

Comstock Public Schools Superintendent Sandra Standish will not get a pay raise this year.

It isn’t because she doesn’t deserve one – Standish received high marks from the board when they revealed their evaluation of her first year at the district’s helm on Nov. 12.

Standish made it known at the October meeting that she would not consider a salary increase while a recession rages and the state continues to slash public school funding.

Standish was hired last year at a base salary of $96,937 — a payroll reduction of $14,285 for CPS — her predecessor, David Hutton, earned $111,222 by the time he retired.

"Dr. Standish in her first year at the helm of Comstock Public Schools and in her first year of superintendency has demonstrated herself to be a highly competent leader,&qu ot; the board wrote, in a summary that continued: "In the general area of School Environment her overall Level of Excellence achieved was scored by the Board as 99.2 percent. This in itself speaks to the job Dr. Standish has done and the appreciation the board has for her efforts in creating a strong and healthy environment for the students of our community and the employees of the district. Prior to Dr. Standish’s arrival work in this area was beginning but major steps forward were accomplished the past year."

Other scores, with explanatory board critique are as follows:

v Professional Responsibilities: 95.8%. Board remarks: "A lot of unchartered ground was traveled in this area including contracted services, new transportation models, etc. Dr. Standish exhibited, through her skills and ability to work with people, the desire and was able to settle employee contracts with settlements that were within the reach of the district financially."

v Planning and Decision Making: 94.4 percent. Board remarks: "Dr. Standish performed well. Her strength in this area will be an asset to the district as economic volatility continues to challenge Comstock Schools."

v Professional Practice, which focuses in the area of communication: 94.4 percent. Board remarks: "Communications is always a challenge for districts in the manner, in the type and in the value. Each person interprets what is good communication differently. Under Dr. Standish, communication has improved and the Board encourages continued progress in this area."

Standish to continue at WMU

At the Oct. meeting, when Standish revealed her decision not to accept a pay increase, she, in accordance with her contract, requested the board’s permission to continue teaching courses in curriculum development, super vision and school community relations on a part-time basis at Western Michigan University.

Trustee Richard Hathaway voiced his objection to the request, citing past scheduling conflicts (regarding Standish’s teaching schedule) and igniting discussion.

"I’ll be the bad guy here," he said. "I don’t think the superintendent should be able to take part-time employment. I appreciate everything Dr. Standish does, and this is not about compensation. I think we’re in the position to have the superintendent’s undivided attention."

Board members and CPS faculty took a stance against the opposition by Hathaway, who is a laboratory director in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering for WMU.

Comstock High School Principal Don Eastman voiced his disapproval.

"What Dr. Standish does at WMU does not impede her job here in Comstock," he said.

Board President Rick Taylor supported her request.

"If she chose to take this time to volunteer, this wouldn’t be an issue — we have specifically asked Sandy to be more involved in business and community endeavors," said Board President Rick Taylor. "This falls in that category and I personally think it’s a great opportunity for Comstock’s Superintendent. She continues to do a fine job."

Trustee Alice Hullhorst concurred.

"Part of her job is PR so this fits in," she said. "We should be proud that Western Michigan University wants her to teach for them."

Jackie Wahl felt that it was important for Standish to continue the work she has been doing since 2004.

"What better way for Comstock to be involved in higher education than to have our superintendent teach university classes?" Wahl said. "I support this."

The boarded voted unanimously to allow Standish to continue her work at WMU.

When asked what swayed him, Hathaway said that he cast his "yes" vote in the spirit of what he considers the board’s best interest — unity.

"I’m very appreciative of what Dr. Standish does for our district and I really want to support her," he said. "I listened tonight. And we don’t need a divided board; we need to speak with one voice."