- up to $10,000 for moving expenses
- 30 days of vacation leave
- $10,000 for each year of employment, if he completes the term of the contract
“His salary is comparable to other districts in our area, and it’s also commensurate with his experience and skill set,” said Jo Ann Rigano, the Beavercreek Board of Education president. “This was a 5-0 vote with the board. There was no hesitation.”
Under his previous contract with Fairfield City School District, Otten earned $128,750.
During the superintendent search, Beavercreek school district advertised an annual salary range from $140,000 to $165,000.
Otten’s salary is above average compared to other superintendents who oversee similar sized districts, according to data Buckeye Association of School Administrators data. Nationwide, the average salary for superintendents who manage districts with 7,500 to 10,000 students is about $140,419, said Tom Ash, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators governmental relations director. The highest salary reported among those superintendents was $151,000.
Superintendent salaries tend to be based on regional, rather than national, averages, Ash said.
“It also depends on whether the board wants to retain the person,” he said. “That tends to drive up salary as well because if the person can make more some place else, they might go there.”
Beavercreek City School District has an estimated 7,833 students and employs about 824 people, according to district documents. The annual budget for 2016 totals $119.6 million.
In addition to his salary, the board also had discussions about a pending lawsuit in Otten’s current school district, according to Rigano. Otten is one of several people within the school district, including a teacher, a guidance counselor and 18 unnamed students, who have been identified as a defendants in the lawsuit.
Last year Marc and Cynthia Olsen, the parents of Fairfield Middle School student Emilie Olsen, filed a federal lawsuit accusing nine Fairfield City Schools officials, the school district and the school board of knowing their child was bullied at school, but doing nothing to stop it before she committed suicide in December 2014.
The lawsuit alleges, Emilie, an Asian-American, was bullied, harassed, assaulted, battered and discriminated against in school and online because of her race, national origin and gender, her association with Caucasian students and her perceived sexual orientation and practices.
The lawsuit seeks damages and reforms to the district’s bulling policies.
Rigano said the school board was aware of the lawsuit before Otten was hired for Beavercreek.
“We vetted these candidates thoroughly,” she said. “There were no surprises with us going into the final interviews. Mr. Otten was very open about the lawsuit.”
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