Salaries are going up in Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) ... just not for the superintendent.
Shane McCord’s recently approved contract through the 2026-27 school year keeps his salary at $240,000 annually, where it currently is.
The GPS Governing Board approved the new contract on a 4-0 vote Aug. 13 with President Sheila Uggetti absent. The details were only released after all parties had signed.
Employees, including administrators, received a 2% pay raise this year and could get an additional stipend if the district’s bond and override pass in November. However, the superintendent’s pay is done by contract independently negotiated with the board.
McCord is eligible annually to receive an additional 5% as a performance-pay bonus. The board unanimously granted him the full 5% last April.
Other parts of the contract include up to 35 days of paid time off per year, though he can take up to 10 as a payout and 25 days can be rolled forward annually with up to 60 days then payable upon retirement, resignation or non-renewal; a $750,000 life insurance policy; a $1,000 per month automobile stipend; district-provided short-term disability and professional liability insurance policies.
The district pays his dues for membership in defined professional associations, and he is eligible to receive up to $3,000 reimbursement annually for travel expenses related to professional development. However, McCord has rarely traveled during his tenure.
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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