Since the Riverside-Brookfield High School board of education announced this summer that it would seek to separate the roles of superintendent and principal, some have complained that such an arrangement is a waste of money.
After all, two top-level administrators adding in their salaries and pensions is going to cost anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000 a year. In his last year as superintendent and principal, Jack Baldermann’s total compensation was just under $270,000 a year.
When Baldermann took on both roles early in his tenure at RB, the plan seemed to work pretty well. The school received a boost academically under Baldermann’s leadership, and Baldermann was a persuasive, passionate advocate for a successful tax increase that is paying for the first major renovation of the school since 1952.
But in our experience, combining roles such as superintendent and principal, while appearing to be a financial win, always seem to turn out less than ideal. The same can be said in municipal government for combined fire and police leadership under some “director of public safety” umbrella. It either creates a bureaucracy of its own or is too big a job for one person to handle effectively.
The latter appears to have been the case at RB in the past couple of years. In addition to his duties as superintendent and principal, Baldermann also wanted to advance his own personal career by signing on with a consulting firm and hitting the lecture circuit.
While the school board could have done a better job reining in the moonlighting, it’s clear there was just too much on Baldermann’s plate.
In addition, the arrangement at RB clearly showed its limitations with respect to oversight. Had Baldermann the principal chosen to embark on a career as a featured speaker or engage in inappropriate behavior, the superintendent would have been able to clamp down on the excesses.
While the board of education needs to also exercise better oversight with respect to the superintendent, combining the roles shortchanges both. In the end, Baldermann ceded most of the principal’s duties for curriculum to Assistant Principal Tim Scanlon. As the school population grew in size by some 50 percent since he was hired at RB, Baldermann simply could not effectively manage both roles.
Did it save the district some money? Yes, but that savings came with a cost over the past year. Was it directly related to combining the roles of superintendent and principal? Yes, we believe, that was partially the case.
We know how much districts in Cook County shell out for administrators, and filling both roles with different people is going to cost a lot of money. But that horse left the barn long ago. This board will have to try to manage the expense the best it can.
But the board can’t allow the slow devolution of school leadership caused, in part, by overwhelming one person with all aspects of the high school and district.