The January 12th School Board workshop regarding contract negotiations were not as productive as desired by the board due to not receiving a response from Dr. Romano about a potential offer. The District’s Attorney Dennis Alfonso stated that the original purpose of the meeting would have been to give him direction on a contract to draft if decisions had been made on terms.
Mr. Alfonso stated that last week, terms were sent over to Dr. Romano’s counsel to verify that what would be discussed at the January 12th meeting would be in range of consideration. No response was received from Dr. Romano or her counsel. Dr. Romano is among three finalists in the running for Superintendent in Osceola County. The Osceola County School Board will choose their top pick on January 19th at 5:30pm.
The Osceola position offers at least a $65,000 raise in pay over her current $120,000 salary. The salary pay range in Osceola is $185,000 to $225,000. Osceola County School District has more than twice as many students as Hernando.
“The goal throughout is to reach a reasonable resolution, which keeps Dr. Romano here. I believe that… at least I can pretty safely say that at least the majority of the board wants to see that… We are a district that struggles with funding even though we’re going to start seeing money coming back from the half cent. It would have been inappropriate to discuss a sizable raise for the Superintendent immediately after the passage of a half cent sales tax.”
“My goal throughout this has not been to wait for Osceola to make their decision. My goal has been to aggressively pursue a contract.”
Mr. Foreman added, “We can’t compete financially in compensation packages with a district like Osceola. Our goal has been to be competitive with like sized districts. On some level extend ourselves a little further than we’re comfortable, because we would have the opportunity to have our Superintendent over a longer period of time than we’ve had in recent history.”
Mr. Foreman mentioned the cost for a Superintendent Search was about $25,000 in the past.
Without a response from Dr. Romano about the terms it is difficult to proceed with a contract.
“We don’t have a confirmation we’re playing in the same ball field right now,” stated Mr. Alfonso.
During earlier discussions, a salary cap at $130,000 had been of concern. Mr. Alfonso explained that this was part of the job description for the Superintendent, but had been changed around the time Dr. Romano began. The salary ranged changed to be “as identified by the contract.” “You don’t have to make an addition or change to the job description in order to finalize negotiations…for the $130,000 figure,” he said.
Ms. Duval had an interesting point of view. “I really think that Dr. Romano deserves the opportunity to make a decision on Osceola if indeed it’s offered to her without the distraction of a Hernando County offer… Osceola represents a major advancement in her career of being a Superintendent and I would not want to stand in the way or make that decision more difficult for her. That’s why I’m inclined to wait on this to see what happens.”
Mr. Guadagnino was less patient. “This really drives a thorn in my butt, the process that we’re doing here,” stated Mr. Guadagnino. He along with Mr. Forman and Mr. Johnson are in favor of coming to a resolution with Dr. Romano before the Osceola decision.
“There are 25 appointed Superintendents in Florida. She is number 24. With the wage she wants, she remains at number 24.” What I understand through Counsel and staff members, the difference what’s on the table… amounts to half a cent per week per student. A half a cent per week per student, we could lock in her contract… I’d like to hear the negative of why we shouldn’t do it… Everything that’s in the contract, she’s doing good on.” With 22,000 students, half a cent per student per week is $5762 if using a complete year, not a school year.
Mr. Foreman explained that he has been preparing the public for the fact that the Superintendent is going to receive a sizable raise, “in excess of what the teachers are going to get.” He responded to Mr. Guadagnino that there is a cut-off point. “At some point you have to say it’s either more than you can afford or it’s more than it’s worth.” At this point though, he does not believe that what she is asking for is too much money and they should walk away and start a Superintendent search.
“You know people come up to that podium but remember something about Hernando County, we have the most Walmarts, we have the most Dollar Generals, we have the most Family Dollars. Why? Because everybody in this community wants a bargain. But you don’t bargain on professionalism,” said Mr. Guadagnino.
He held up the contract of the previous Superintendent Bryan Blavatt which was signed in 2010 for $130,000. He stated that Dr. Romano is asking for less than what Superintendent Blavatt was making in 2010. Mr. Foreman stated that is inaccurate and did not want to discuss numbers, but did mention that the contract was for $130,000.
Being that there was concern over a salary cap of $130,000, Dr. Romano is most likely not being offered less than that number.
Ms. Naverud defended the performance of Mr. Foreman and stated that he is considering what’s best for the district and taxpayers. “I trust in Mr. Foreman’s ability to negotiate on our behalf. I think that he’s serving us well. I think that he is looking at both sides, protecting our ability to keep the Superintendent and to be good stewards of the money of the people of this County.”
During a long recess, Mr. Alfonso contacted Dr. Romano’s attorney to attempt to get some input about the terms of what was sent to her. Her attorney was unable to contact her via cell phone. The meeting was adjourned shortly after the recess.