On an otherwise unanimously jubilant occasion in the crowded Multi-purpose Room at the Middle School, the School Board voted 4 to 1 late this afternoon to appoint Interim Supt. Patti Jaffe the Real Super with a one-year contract. Karlo Silbiger, himself a teacher and the youngest member of the Board, cast the dissenting vote near the end of a 35-minute meeting. He said it was not personal, that he objected to her $201,000 salary and to her $217,000 package, the latter considerably less than her predecessor.
After saying that Ms. Jaffe, a 41-year veteran of Culver City schools, has created “a massive difference in attitude” across the community since “temporarily” succeeding Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté last June, Mr. Silbiger said that while there is a sense across the town that “I am not a fan of hers, nothing could be farther from the truth.”
In the traditional terminology of outgoing Board member Steve Gourley, there was an “outpouring” of nearly 120 fans of Ms. Jaffe.
In what was supposed to be an open-and-closed meeting of perhaps several minutes, nine different persons lauded the selection of Ms. Jaffe.
Perhaps the most memorable tribute was paid by Middle School teacher Mark Gottfried, hired 18 years ago by Ms. Jaffe. At least he produced the most emotional and most memorable lines:
“Patti is becoming the new Superintendent this afternoon.
“I am retiring.
“I wanted it noted, there is no cause-and-effect here.”
Wildly, overwhelmingly, Ms. Jaffe, with her proud husband Leonard beaming in the first row, was the people’s choice. For the last two months, parents, teachers, present and former students and anyone else who could find a megaphone, has been telling the Board her qualifications are gilded in gold.
After Teachers Union President David Mielke first saluted his friend Ms. Jaffe, he proceeded to scold the Board for her salary when veteran teachers are being laid off.
Wearying of Mr. Mielke’s drumbeat of criticisms about administration salaries vs. teachers’ pay, Mr. Gourley said he once offered the Super’s position to Mr. Mielke at Mr. Mielke’s present teacher pay. “He said ‘no,’” Mr. Gourley added.
Throughout the brief special meeting, the single bright line (aside from lauding the choice of Ms. Jaffe) was a disputation over salaries for teachers compared with contracts for.
As the featured speaker for the School Board, President Scott Zeidman stoutly and repeatedly defended Ms. Jaffe’s contract, mentioning along the way that while she has a one-year contract, a more realistic view of her tenure is “20 years from now when Patti decides to leave us.”
Mr. Zeidman performed oratorical surgery on Ms. Jaffe’s agreement, especially when compared with her predecessor’s.
When Dr. Coté abruptly resigned 9½ months ago, Mr. Zeidman said the School Board hired “the most respected “superintendent search team in the state.”
“We disagreed on occasion but they provided specific information,” he said.
The Super search refuted one Teachers Union point, that the salary of the new superintendent was not based on the pay for the predecessor, he asserted. Instead, it showed that Super pay is hinged on two other factors, the applicant’s prior salary and comparable salaries in the region.
For comparisons, Mr. Zeidman said he examined eight school districts that Culver City’s two school labor unions use:
Temple City, Santa Monica-Malibu, San Gabriel, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, Beverly Hills and Bassett.
Here are the Super salaries they pay (though not in the order of schools listed):
$215,200 (plus unlimited carryover of vacation days)
$232, 392 (same)
$244, 039 (same)
$253, 791 (same)
$283,400 (same)
$325, 866 (same)
$343, 337 (same)
$249, 964 (maximum of 36 carryover vacation days)
“When calculating the cost of a superintendent,” said Mr. Zeidman, “you have to look at the total package.”
Chiding the President of the Teachers Union, he said “Mr. Mielke has made this abundantly clear to us for years when he would refer to Myrna’s mileage allowance. Back then, you see, it was about the package, not base salary.”
Mr. Zeidman said 10 elements comprise “the total package.”
1. Base salary.
2. Any increases.
3. Stipends.
4. Housing allowance.
5. Moving allowances.
6. Car allowances.
7. Health benefits.
8. The cost of cashed out vacation days.
9. Life insurance.
10. Anything else the superintendent can negotiate.
In Ms. Jaffe’s contract, the package includes:
1. Base salary of $201,000.
2. No negotiated increase.
3. No stipend.
4. No housing allowance.
5. No moving allowance.
6. No car allowance.
7. Health benefits of between $5,000 and $8,000.
8. Maximum of 10 cashed out vacation days (above what she already has earned), “giving the District financial security. Upon Patti’s departure, we know we will not be hit with anything more than 10 additional vacation days.
9. No life insurance.
Mr. Zeidman noted that while Ms. Jaffe’s contract spans $217,000, “she has longevity as Myrna did. Longevity, like the step-and-column policy, is a way to compensate an employee for length of service.”
Seeming almost nettled, he said: “When we hear about raises and reductions, we never hear about step-and-column or longevity. Those are givens.”
“I had to make an assumption on three contracts.
“Our providing source did not indicate the number of vacation days that these superintendents received with their contracts. As 24 is standard for superintendent contracts, I included 24 days plus carryover for each of those three contracts.
“The three contracts that I used this assumption upon were the ones valued at $253,791, $283,400 and $325,866. The value of the 24 vacation days is $24,688, $26,400, and $23,467.”
