BIDDEFORD — Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Ray said he is negotiating to purchase a condominium in Biddeford.
“I will be a taxpaying resident by the (December) deadline,” said Ray by telephone on Wednesday.
The superintendent, who started his job in July 2012, has been praised for the way he has handled the school budget, among other qualities, but his tenure has been slightly marred because he has yet to become a city resident, as required by the city charter.
According to the charter, the superintendent of schools is required to become a Biddeford resident within six months of being hired. The superintendent and city manager are the only city staff positions with residency requirements.
At the November election, a question on the ballot to remove the residency mandate for the school superintendent from the charter failed, as did an attempt to change the rule at the state level.
Earlier this year, Mayor Alan Casavant, who is also the chairman of the school committee and a state representative, sponsored a bill at the request of some school committee members that would have allowed each school committee throughout the state to decide whether or not to have a residency requirement as part of a contract for its school superintendent.
Augusta and several other municipalities also have such requirements.
A number of residents publicly opposed Casavant’s bill, saying that the voters had spoken at the polls and that Casavant shouldn’t try to make an end run around that decision by attempting to pass state legislation that would nullify the vote. While the Legislature initially passed Casavant’s bill, it was vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage and didn’t accrue the necessary two-thirds vote in either the House or Senate for an override.
The school committee voted to give Ray an extension until this December to become a resident. Ray said he plans to keep his nearby home in Saco, where he currently lives with his wife and young son, while also purchasing a condominium in Biddeford.
If being active in the community is one reason people want the superintendent to live in Biddeford, Ray already fulfills that, said Casavant. Despite currently living outside the city’s borders, about one mile from his office, Ray is a constant at many school events and frequents many of the city’s businesses, said Casavant.
One of the other reasons given as to why people want the superintendent to live in Biddeford, said the mayor, is that the superintendent “should be paying taxes. So he’s listened to that.”
School Committee member Tammy Fleurent, who has nothing but praise for Ray, said that she’s glad the situation will be resolved so residents can focus on the good work the superintendent has done for the school district, especially with the budget.
Ray noted that his initial proposal for the current year school budget was $35,000 less than the previous budget, prior to the addition of costs over which the school district had no control.
Despite those increases, the $32.7 million budget is a little more than $500,000 more than the past year budget; more than $400,000 of the increase is due to the additional expense of Maine State Retirement, formerly paid by state government. There was also a significant increase in the cost of the district’s health insurance, said Ray.
While Casavant said he’s pleased that the residency issue will soon be resolved in the case of Ray, he worries what will happen when the superintendent leaves and the school department must look for his replacement.
The residency requirement hampers the city’s ability to hire the most qualified candidates, said Casavant.
When Ray leaves, wrote Casavant in a “Biddeford Update” email, “We will be again hamstrung by our charter language. We need to enter the 21st century and understand that today’s young candidates for superintendent positions value family stability, and uprooting their family is not in their best interest.”
Under the assumption that Ray’s residency should be resolved soon, in July, the school committee approved an amendment to Ray’s contract during an executive session.
Executive sessions, which are permitted by law to cover personnel and contract issues, are conducted in private. Casavant, who said he wasn’t present for the executive session, said that an amendment does not require a committee vote, which would have had to take place in public.
Ray was not awarded a raise to his $118,000 salary; a salary which is about $7,000 less than that of the former superintendent, and less than superintendents in surrounding communities, stated school department Business Manager Terry Gauvin in an email.
The amendment approved by the school committee changes the terms of Ray’s health insurance.
Like many school department employees, if the superintendent chooses not to use health insurance provided by the city, he is allowed a payment of a certain percentage of the plan that he is eligible for as an insurance “buyout.”
According to the contract, the employer pays 85 percent of the Anthem insurance plan, which Ray as well as his wife and child could be covered under, with the employee responsible for 15 percent of the cost.
The initial contract allowed for a buyout of 50 percent, about $8,000, while the amendment allows for a 100 percent buy out, of about $16,700.
Ray said he and his family are covered under his wife’s medical insurance plan.
In his Biddeford Update email, Casavant stated the money Ray will receive in the buyout is “money that would have gone to pay for that policy. This happens in other city/school departments. ”¦ The Board felt that this was fair compensation for his exceptional work and creative management of the school system.”
Also as part of the amendment, the board will purchase up to 10 unused days of Ray’s 35 days of paid vacation days at his per diem rate.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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