Warsaw School Board Monday approved a 4 percent salary increase for WCS administrators.

The salary increases total $121,024 for the year. Administrator salaries for the 2004-05 year total $3,380,370.

The approval set off a reaction among the patrons attending the meeting.

Valerie Rowland, a Claypool parent and a member of Concerned Citizens for Quality Education, said, "I didn't go through all the pain and the fight to see you give yourselves a raise. ... My kids have to go to one of these huge schools that they don't want to go to so you can give yourselves a raise. That's not thinking of the kids."

The board in September voted to close Atwood, Claypool and Silver Lake elementaries, with a projected first-year savings of approximately $300,000.

Mary Green, also a Claypool parent, told the board, "You are not a good steward of taxpayers' dollars. You took money out of my pocket so you could give people raises."

She asked superintendent Dr. David McGuire how much of a raise the 4 percent would be for him.

"About $4,000," McGuire said.

"I challenge you to give it back," Green said. "It's appalling to get a 4 percent raise ... it's unconscionable. Give it back."

The strongest exchange took place between patron Rick Schooley and board member Cathy Folk, as Schooley was protesting the raise and asking the board to wait to vote on the matter until after the fall election, when three board seats are at stake.

Schooley said, "Some of you guys are gonna be gone -"

"OK, that's enough," Folk interrupted loudly, pointing at Schooley. "You are not going to come in here and threaten the board members."

"I still have the rest of my three minutes," Schooley said, referring to the time allotted each member of the public during the comments portion of the agenda.

The resolution to increase administrators' salaries was approved by board members Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, Jim Folk and board president Craig Allebach. Gene England and Ron Yeiter opposed the raise, and Mark Minatel was absent.

Before the vote was held, England made a motion to table the resolution until January, and Yeiter seconded, but the motion was defeated.

Kevin Scott was hired as chief financial officer, replacing Rande Thorpe, who resigned last month. Scott has a master's degree in business administration from Indiana Institute of Technology and has served as business unit controller at CTB in Milford and as a financial analyst at DePuy. His beginning salary will be $88,000.

The board also approved administrative contracts - two years for assistant superintendent Sandra Hess and Scott, and one year for all other administrators. Yeiter and England opposed that motion also.

The school board's regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the administration building. [[In-content Ad]]