By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — The Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to give Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice a three percent raise and extend his contract through June 2026.

The boost will increase his base annual salary from $303,196 to $312,291. Six of the board’s seven members were on hand for the unanimous vote.

Other details of the contract, amended during a closed-door meeting prior to the board’s Monday business meeting, were not immediately available.

The board conducted Scarice’s job performance review earlier this month, also in executive session.

During Monday’s meeting, board members made no comments on Scarice’s review. Outside of the meeting, some board members deferred comment on the job they think the superintendent is doing to the board chair. Others said that they are pleased with changes Scarice has brought to the school district.

“I think he is doing a tremendous job,” said board member Robert Harrington. “When he joined the district three years ago we were going through a lot of changes.”

Harrington said at the time there was controversy and a lack of trust in district leadership. The general mood from the faculty and administration, he said, was pretty bad.

The change under Scarice’s leadership, he said, has been huge.

“I don’t always agree with him,” Harrington said. “What is non-negotiable for me is the impact and the change he has brought about in terms of getting the culture of the school district in the right place. … He is trusted throughout the district by parents, by teachers, by his cabinet.”

Earlier this month, board Chairwoman Lee Goldstein said she believes Scarice is doing an excellent job leading the school district.

Board member Dorie Hordon also said Scarice is doing a good job.

“Everybody’s positive, with the administration, the staff, they really rallied around him,” Hordon said.

That is a total change from before Scarice came, she added. “There’s a positive vibe.”

Scarice was named superintendent in July 2020, months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three percent boost is the same percent pay increase given last week to Scarice’s cabinet and 57 other non-union employees.

Non-union staff includes support supervisors, secretaries, head custodians, technology assistants, security, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

The cabinet officials and their new 2023-24 salaries include: Chief Financial Officer Elio Longo, $255,542; Assistant Supt. Anthony Buono, $242,063; Assistant Supt. Michael Rizzo, $235,834, and Assistant Supt. John Bayers, $227,556.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.