By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT–Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice will get a contract extension and the same three percent wage increase as his cabinet.
The school board voted with no public discussion at the end of its four-hour board meeting on Thursday to approve an amended contract for Scarice.
Unlike last year, when two members of the board, including Board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon voted against the contract and raise, the vote this time was unanimous. Last year, Hordon specifically took issue with the size of that year’s raise: four percent, calling it too high.
The terms, hashed out in executive session prior to the meeting, puts Scarice’s base salary at $344,563 when the new fiscal year starts in July and bumps the three-year contract out to June 30, 2029. Scarice is the town’s highest paid employee.
Board executive sessions held this spring also included a job performance review. The critique is done with nothing in writing. As such, it is not disclosable under state Freedom of Information laws.
After the meeting, however, Board Chair Lee Goldstein offered a comment.
“Tom does an excellent job guiding the district, advancing important initiatives, and keeping the focus where it belongs: on students and schools,” Goldstein said.
After the vote, Scarice said in an email that he was deeply grateful to the Board for its vote of confidence and for the opportunity to continue serving the Westport Public Schools community.
“It is a privilege to work alongside such dedicated educators, administrators, staff, families, and community members in support of our students,” Scarice said.
Scarice has been superintendent of the district since 2020.
Last week, the board handed out three percent raises to 65 non-union school district positions including the district’s three assistant superintendents and chief financial officer who comprise Scarice’s cabinet.
It is the same amount staff represented by unions are expected to receive starting July 1.
Linda Conner Lambeck
Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.
This Thursday’s June 18 Special BOE meeting matters. Staples HS Cafeteria 7pm. It was shared the sole agenda item will be the role the BOE will play in the comprehensive review of Special Education.
Show up and express what our kids deserve: a truly independent review — overseen by the BOE, not the administration — that confronts the real problems in Special Education head-on. Research. Best practices. The law. *Our most vulnerable kids are depending on it.*
Side note: In the private sector, performance reviews are documented, tracked against measurable goals and metrics. If this Administration has nothing to hide, the performance review should be written and open to the public.
Here is a link to the change.org petition about the special education review; over 600 have already signed in support: https://c.org/WfTF6PjhCR