The new Montgomery County schools chief will receive a $250,000 salary, a car for professional and personal use, a smartphone, and thousands of dollars in benefits and moving expenses. Joshua Starr’s new paycheck is $33,000 more than the retiring Jerry Weast’s. He also is required to meet four times more often with the school board than Weast to discuss his performance and progress toward reaching the nationally acclaimed school district’s goals.
The contract “is absolutely thorough, and it also sets a very clear vision for how the board and the superintendent are going to work together, and how the superintendent is going to work with staff and community,” said board member Laura Berthiaume. “I think it is a very, very well-written contract.”
Starr currently earns $217,141 a year as the public schools superintendent in Stamford, Conn.
Until he chooses his insurance plans, Starr’s compensation package in Montgomery County Public Schools is not defined. However, his four-year contract sets the stage for annual raises; provides 25 days of annual leave and 20 personal or sick days; an annual $35,000 bonus; up to $30,000 in moving expenses; a take-home vehicle; a “BlackBerry and/or iPhone”; and comprehensive insurance options.
The contract specifies that Starr must meet four times a year with the school board for informal performance reviews, in addition to his annual written review.
He also is required to live in the county.
Weast’s contract, signed in 1999, merely called for “periodic opportunities” to discuss the superintendent’s relationship with the board, in addition to his annual review. It also allowed for 25 days’ leave, moving fees, a county car and a cell phone.
Weast’s salary was initially about $237,800, but was tied to the local economy’s performance and is now about $217,000; however, his generous benefits package brings his annual haul closer to $500,000.
At $250,000, Starr’s salary will fall below that of rival Fairfax County’s superintendent, Jack Dale, who earns about $292,470 in his seventh year. Kaya Henderson, acting chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, earns $275,000. Prince George’s County Superintendent William Hite makes $250,000.
Starr is expected to sign the contract Wednesday at the school system’s headquarters in Rockville.
“This really seals the deal,” said Patricia O’Neill, the only school board member who preceded Weast. “The next step will obviously be a farewell to Dr. Weast and a welcoming of Dr. Starr to the district.”
Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
