STUART — In September, longtime Assistant Superintendent Hank Salzler was awarded a three-year contract.

Four months later, Salzler has moved into a new role as “administrator on assignment” and is now the Martin County School District’s interim transportation director. But he still takes home a base salary of $107,946 before benefits and supplements.

So will the person who becomes the next assistant superintendent.

And in a time of budget cuts, some School Board members said they have concerns about adding another administrator to the payroll.

“I think it’s a really tight budget year and in all honesty to add another $100,000 position or another $100,000-plus position at this point in time, that could have been another $100 bucks in the teachers’ pockets,” Martin County School Board Chairwoman Lorie Shekailo said.

But Schools Superintendent Nancy Kline said that’s not an issue since one of Salzler’s main responsibilities will be filling vacant administrative positions as needed. The board approved the three-page job description and Salzler’s move at the Jan. 20 meeting.

“I think it’s a good move for the district,” Kline said. “That gives the district some flexibility to send him to places where we might need his support and his expertise. At this time we had a vacancy in the transportation department, so he could fill that.”

Before becoming assistant superintendent in 1995, Salzler was principal at Murray Middle School. He has also been a teacher and athletic director.

Kline was officially elected to the post as education chief in November. A four-year member of the School Board, she was the top-voter in a four-way Republican primary in August and faced a write-in candidate in the general election.

Former Superintendent Sara Wilcox asked the board to approve changing Salzler’s contract from a one-year to three-year term in September. The measure passed 3-to-1 with Kline voting against the recommendation.

“I was hopeful that he would continue to be the assistant superintendent, which is why I voted for it,” Shekailo said. “Mrs. Kline is new and there were a lot of new people moving forward. I would have hoped that she would have utilized Hank’s strengths and the areas of his knowledge in keeping a smooth transition for the school district.”

Kline hopes to pick her second-in-command within weeks.

“It will be nice to select an assistant superintendent,” Kline said. “There’s quite a few really strong candidates that have applied.”

By Kelly Tyko, TCPalm.com

Tags: budget, chief, contract, Republicans, teacher, teachers, utility, vote

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