The School Reform Commission has unanimously voted to approve a contract for new superintendent William Hite.
Hite, who was hired to replace Arlene Ackerman, is finishing up his term as Prince George’s County Public School superintendent in Maryland, where he had an annual salary of $250,000. He is expected to start working in Philly full-time in October.
The school district is expected to release the details of the deal momentarily. In light of all the furor over Ackerman’s perks, government watchdog group Committee of Seventy urged the district to release the broad parameters of the contract before it was signed, but the district declined.
When Ackerman left the district, she was making $360,000, or twice as much as Mayor Nutter and way more than the governor. The deal also included retention bonuses, drivers, and time for outside consulting.
Several elected officials have since made a push to cap superintendent pay in Pennsylvania, which has also been tried in New Jersey and New York, but no action has been taken.
The SRC also approved a contract extension for Chief Recovery Officer Tom Knudsen, whose six-month, $150,000 deal expired last week. Knudsen will work through Nov. 23 and report to Hite as he transitions.
The SRC meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. You can watch it live on the district’s website by clicking here.
