New Wakefield Superintendent Expected to Start July 1st

Dr. Stephen Zrike would start his duties as the new Wakefield superintendent of schools on July 1st, under conditions approved Tuesday night by the school committee. Zrike's choice was first announced last month.

During the meeting, Committee Chairman Tom Markham reported that Zrike will have a three-year contract running through June 30, 2016. His salary for FY 2014 would be $160,000, with guaranteed 2.5% raises in FY 2015 and FY 2016. Other terms of his employment agreement will include 20 vacation days and a $3,000 annuity.

"This concludes a long, thoughtful and methodical process that began in earnest last October," said Markham. "We went through a very active community-wide endeavor, which took some time. But it should have."

Several committee members expressed concerns about Zrike's contract. Kevin Piskadlo said that it was "just not in the best interests of the town, fiscally speaking," and that it was "well beyond what I think is reasonable."

Chris Callanan expressed similar sentiments. "I don't feel as though our committee has done its due diligence in protecting the town." he said. "I think we've gone too far."

Committee member Lisa Butler noted that members had headed into negotiations expecting a salary range between $150,000 and $160,000 for the new superintendent, and that the process had been "negotiated fairly back and forth."

"We went back and forth. That was why the negotiations took as long as they did take," said Committee Vice Chair Anne Danehy. "I think this contract is fair, we stayed within our parameters."

Markham later indicated that there were "some pieces of this contract that I do not support either," noting that the annuity is "almost extraordinary in this day and age" while the salary is on "the very high end" of Zrike's experience level. He also added that he had never appreciated guaranteed raises in a contract.

Members did reiterate their expectation that Zrike will be a strong and effective leader for the Wakefield district. The initial vote for his contract was 4-3. Markham then proposed making the vote unanimous to reflect support for Zrike. That proposal passed, 5-2.