District inks $130K deal with superintendent

Goodrich-By a 7-0 vote on Monday night the board of education agreed to a contract with the new district superintendent, Scott Bogner.
Bogner, 50, agreed to a 3-year contract and will earn $130,000 per year. He will also receive a $4,000 per year annuity. In the 2011-12 school year Bogner earned a base wage of $107,100 as superintendent in the Grant School District.
Board Treasurer David Cramer said the contract is roughly 3.5 percent less than outgoing superintendent John Fazer’s contract.
‘We’re happy’Scott’s happy, it’s a win-win situation,? said Cramer.
The board of education voted in April to retain the services of the Michigan Leadership Institute, at a cost of $6,700, to coordinate the search for a district superintendent following the resignation of Fazer on March 26. Fazer had been superintendent since May 2009 and will remain until June 30. Since his resignation, 31 candidates had applied for the position.
Bogner had served as Grant superintendent since 2006 after working as principal at Evart High School for about nine years. For ten years Bogner was the assistant principal/athletic director at Marion Public Schools. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Central Michigan University. Bogner has taken classes in management from Colorado Technical University.
‘In the grand scale of things it’s a small amount,? said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy for the Mackinac Center. ‘Like all government employees, school superintendents pay 20 percent of their health care. On average statewide, superintendent salaries account for less than 1 percent of a district’s budget. With some concessions a superintendent’s salary can make a statement for the district’if he or she can take cuts others will also.?
‘In addition, superintendent salaries fluctuate in the market. In most cases the larger the district, the higher the salary,? he said.
According to a 2009 report in the Genesee Intermediate School District, superintendent base wages range from $217,235 in the Grand Blanc School District with an enrollment of 8,457 to $162,964 in the Carman-Ainsworth School District with 4,866 students to $100,000 in the Atherton Community School District with 930 students. A school districtwith similar enrollment size to Goodrich in the GISD would include Lake Fenton School District with about 1,800 students. The superintendent there earns a salary of $124,160.