Mineola Superintendent Receives New Contract

Mineola School Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler has some job security for the next 5 years following a new contract which was approved by the Mineola Board of Education at a special meeting which was called Monday night at the .

According to president Terence Hale, the board had been negotiating the new contract for the past few weeks following rumors that the New York State Legislature would impose a sometime this week.

“We have decided to act this evening... as a precautionary measure,” Hale said, reading from prepared remarks.

The proposed salary cap for a district of Mineola’s size would be $155,000 in total compensation including benefits, health and pension. The salary is determined by by the size of the district, specifically the number of students in attendance.

One of the main problems with the cap is that several teachers in Mineola currently make that salary. Dr. Nagler’s current salary according to the 2010-11 school budget was $202,800. It was noted several times that the amount is one of the lowest for a superintendent in Nassau County, as the average tends to be about $250,000.

After hearing about the possibility that the state Legislature might enact the salary cap this week, the board opted to sign a new contract even though Dr. Nagler still had a year left on his current agreement rather than wait and “take a chance” that the bill would be passed. It was said that a contract signed ahead of the passage of such a cap would not be subject to the restriction.

Regarding the proposed cap, “long term that creates a problem in that 5 years from now if the cap still exists, there’s going to be a problem getting superintendents,” Trustee John McGrath said.

“We felt that we wanted to do it tonight and make sure there was no gap between now and possibly the legislation,” board vice-President Christine Napolitano said. “To take a chance that Dr. Nagler might not be here, I think it goes into a while other chaotic state, that’s the last thing I would want to see. We set this in motion and we need to see it through.”

The new contract would run from June 13, 2011 to June 12, 2016, has no raises in salary following the first 2 years and Dr. Nagler would increase his healthcare contributions from 15 to 20 percent.

However, the contract’s starting salary is equal to the 4 percent increase Nagler would have at the end of July, pushing his pay to $210,912. Raises of 2 percent would also be given in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school year, with a lump sum of $20,000 in the final year in addition to the 2 percent.

“We believe that entering into this agreement is not only fiscally responsible but ensures that we continue on the path we have started,” Hale said, adding that the board wished Dr. Nagler to continue to lead the district through its reconfiguration process.

McGrath, who noted he had opposed the reconfiguration of the district, said he was voting in favor of the contract “because the district needs some stability and we need to be able to move forward.”

Nagler framed the raise in the context of other superintendent salaries, saying the new deal would “guarantee I will stay one of the lowest paid people on the island” and “at the end of this contract I still will not be at today’s average with 7 years in as a superintendent.”

According to the superintendent the new contract has no bearing on negotiations with other bargaining units such as the teachers and administrators.

“Our bargaining units are not the lowest paid of any union in the county,” Nagler said of the difference between teachers and himself.

The board has hired an attorney to negotiate with the other bargaining units, asking the superintendent not to act as head negotiator during the talks. Dr. Nagler said that he would not be involved in the talks until much later in the process.