By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice will get a 2.25 percent salary boost like most other school district employees in the coming fiscal year, but also a one-time $10,000 deferred compensation payment in January 2023.

The additional compensation is on top of $5,000 paid to a tax-sheltered annuity of the superintendent’s choosing.

Scarice’s new base salary will put him at $303,196.

Meeting in a special public session Tuesday at Town Hall, the Board of Education voted 6-0, with one member absent, on the wages as part of a new three-year contract with Scarice, which extends his employment agreement through June 30, 2025.

Approved without comment, discussions in private

Board members had no comment on the motion during the brief meeting, but when asked immediately afterward collectively said, “Yes,” when asked if they thought Scarice was doing a good job.

“He is doing a great job,” Board Chairwoman Lee Goldstein said. In an emailed statement later, Goldstein added, “Tom has done a terrific job, being a stabilizing force for the district, earning trust among all our stakeholders.

“We look forward to working together to continually make Westport public schools even better.”

The board held several closed-door evaluation meetings with and about Scarice over the past month.

Although his contract calls for a written evaluation, both Goldstein and Scarice said the critique was conducted verbally.

Because it is not in writing, the evaluation is not disclosable to the public under Connecticut Freedom of Information laws.

Goldstein called oral evaluations common for school districts in Westport’s reference group.

Immediately after the vote on the superintendent’s contact, the school board met with members of the Board of Finance and others, several of whom were not shy about saying they think Scarice is doing a wonderful job.

“Tom and the board have been great to work with,” said Don O’Day, a Representative Town Meeting member, who was chairman of the Coleytown Middle School Building Committee.

Jay DesMarteau, a member of the finance panel, said Scarice has done a good job building trust between the school district and town officials.

Challenging start to Scarice’s tenure

Scarice replaced Colleen Palmer who retired in 2019 after three years as superintendent with the district. During her tenure, according to published reports, she clashed with the Board of Finance over the budget and was criticized by some parents over how Coleytown Middle School mold issues were handled.

Scarice, who attended the joint session of the school and finance boards Tuesday to explain the district’s capital plan and intention to replace Long Lots Elementary School, said after the session that he is happy entering his third year in the Westport school district.

“The whole community has been so supportive during these two very difficult years and the [school] board has led that support,” Scarice said.

A North Haven native, Scarice was hired as superintendent two years ago in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He previously had been superintendent in Madison for eight years. Prior to that, he was an assistant superintendent in Weston.

Scarice: High marks for district, high hopes for future

What he loves about being in Westport, Scarice said, is the level of investment and involvement.

“I love the high-achieving nature,” Scarice said. “I am a high-achieving person. I really thrive around high-achieving peers.”

His goal in the coming, post-pandemic year, he said, is step up his game and move from playing defense to offense.

“That is probably what has me so energized,” said Scarice. “I am really excited about where we are headed.“

He said he also is pleased with feedback the school board has given him.

“I walked into a district that had a lot of churn at the leadersip level. There were a lot of trust issues,” Scarice said. “I worked hard for two years to establish a sense of credibility and trust through strong communication.”

 Over the past two years, in addition to dealing with the pandemic, Scarice began development of a strategic plan that will have the high-performing district paying more attention to the social emotional needs of students and encourage more collaborative learning. 

He also shepherded an equity study that many say is needed, but which also has critics.

Linda Conner Lambeck is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Westport Journal. Learn more about us here.