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OPEN LETTER
to Riverside Public Schools District 96 Board of Education,
and Dr. Jonathan Lamberson, District Superintendent
Riverside, August 11, 2009
In light of the recent contract negotiations with District 96 superintendent Dr. Lamberson, we, the
undersigned, feel compelled to express our disapproval with the level of compensation granted to Dr.
Lamberson, and the handling of this issue by the members of District 96 Board of Education. We have
concerns as to the intent and ability of the current school board to fulfill its duties and obligations to
the District’s taxpayers, which include providing leadership and administrative oversight. As a result,
we urge the Board to adopt 6 recommendations and policies, and ask Dr. Lamberson to voluntarily
renegotiate his salary and not take the proposed pay increases.
Inadequate fiscal prudence
We have reached the conclusion that the current Board is lacking perspective with regard to a
reasonable and fair level of compensation for the District’s superintendent based on two specific facts:
first, the overall level of the superintendent’s compensation, and second, the 20% pay raise for school
year 2008‐09, aimed at further inflating pension benefits paid for by all IL taxpayers.
Over the terms of the superintendent’s two contracts, from school year 2005‐06 to 2012‐13, a 77%
salary increase will have been granted to Dr. Lamberson. During school year 2012‐13, Dr. Lamberson’s
annual salary will be $313,000, not including other benefits.
For the purpose of providing perspective, following are the annual salaries for various high level
governmental management and leadership positions. The Governor of the State of Illinois is paid
$166,000, the City of Chicago Mayor $216,000, and the U.S. Vice President $221,000.
The CEO of the Chicago Public School System, which is the 3rd largest school district in the U.S., is paid
$195,000. Chicago Public Schools are comprised of 666 schools, 407,955 students, and an operating
budget of $4.855 billion. By comparison, Dr. Lamberson’s 2008‐09 retroactively adjusted annual salary is
$268,000. District 96 contains 5 schools and a total of 1,378 students, a vast majority of whom come
from stable homes in a stable community, where parents prize and promote academic achievement.
The most recent 2008‐09 school year salary adjustment that amounts to a 20% pay raise is
inconceivable. It appears to be a move to circumvent state regulations and associated penalties meant
to discourage the arbitrary action of granting the 20% pay raise in the first place. This irresponsible and
unfair action renders the Board complicit in the abuse of the statewide pension system for educators,
and presents an embarrassment to a District with a mission, among others, to foster respect for self and
community.
Further, the board seems unwilling to acknowledge that events and forces outside the halls of the
schools can and should have an impact on the spending habits of the district, and that the funds used to
pay Dr. Lamberson's salary are coming from many people who are facing significant financial difficulties.
Lack of perspective regarding fiscal health of district
In their letter titled “Extending contract in best interest of District 96 community” published in the
Riverside Brookfield Landmark on 8 July 2009, the Board asserts that the District’s great financial
standing is due to Dr. Lamberson’s stewardship and expertise as the district’s business manager, while
not acknowledging that the main reason for the District’s excellent fiscal health is the 2004 Property Tax
referendum for District 96 which was approved by the taxpayers. As a result, District 96 has had a
budget surplus totaling over $9million over the past 4 years of Dr. Lamberson’ tenure. However,
expenses surged to just under $17 million in school year 2008‐09 during his tenure, while they
consistently ranged between $10.5 million and $11.5 million for the 5 years prior to Dr. Lamberson’s
arrival at District 96. We conclude that D96 School Board members lack perspective regarding the key
drivers responsible for the financial health of the district.
Inadequate oversight
The underlying message, in the limited communications by the Board with the community, alludes to
the success of our schools and students primarily as the result of one man's efforts, much more so than
a joint effort including our school principals, teachers, and parents. This apparent tendency to unevenly
acknowledge credit is an issue of fairness, and is confirmed upon closer study of the levels of
compensation across all levels of District staff. There is a significant discrepancy in the ratio of average
administrator’s salaries over teachers’ salaries in District 96 as compared to the same ratio in the entire
State. Over the past 10 years, based on information from the IL State Board of Education, the average
administrator salary was $110,615 in the district, while the state average admin salary was $91,969, a
20% premium at D96 over the State. The teachers’ average salary of $52,446 in the district was actually
smaller than the one in the State at $52,706.
Averaged over the last 10 years, 57.8% of D96 teachers hold a master’s degree or above, as compared to
48.5% in the State, and the average individual teacher’s experience over the same period is 13.4 years in
the district and 13.7 years in the state. Additionally, the pupil to administrator ratio has consistently
been lower in the district and stands at 172:1 in 2008 as compared to 212:1 in the state.
Recommendations
In light of all of the above, we, the undersigned, urge the Board to adopt the following
recommendations and policies in the spirit of our shared purpose and highest objective to continually
improve District 96 schools:
1. The Board shall improve communications with the community. It achieves this charge by
proactively soliciting and balancing the participation and input of members of the community. It
shall establish a forum for questions, discussion, and public input in addition to and outside of
the monthly School Board meetings. In responding to the communities’ questions and concerns,
the Board shall set the highest standard with regard to transparency and accountability, aimed
to assure that every possible angle is covered as the basis for informed decision making.
2. All written information and documentation discussed during regular Board meetings shall be
made available to the general public at least 3 business days in advance of a Board meeting,
similar to the pdf packets the Village of Riverside administration posts on their website for
review and download. All written information and documentation pertaining to business items
discussed during closed session meetings shall be distributed to all Board members 3 business
days in advance of the closed session meeting.
3. The Board shall fulfill its leadership role within the larger Riverside community, and
acknowledge the role of education within the community’s broader purposes and other taxing
bodies. It shall proactively engage in coordination and planning meetings and activities held
among the major taxing bodies, and initiate them in case such efforts do not exist. The Board
shall regularly provide status reports of this coordination effort to the community.
4. The Board shall assume a leadership position in fighting prevalent abuses in the State of Illinois
Administrators and Teachers Pension System. It shall do so on all jurisdictional levels, including
local, state and federal. It shall reach out to all members of the community in soliciting the vast
expertise among its residents, in an effort to jointly tackle and fight the prevalent abuse of a
well intentioned system.
5. The Board shall present to the community the systems of performance tracking and processes of
accountability used to evaluate the District superintendent and its principals.
6. The Board shall request that Dr. Lamberson follow the example of Elgin Area School District
U‐46 Jose Torres, who turned down his pay raise as reported in the Daily Herald on July 22,
2009.
Sincerely,
Thomas + Kim Jacobs, 104 Scottswood Road, Riverside
Olga Pribyl + David Pierdinock, 166 Scottswood Road, Riverside
Beth + Eric Zuschlag, 213 Bloomingbank, Riverside
Terry Sweeney, 112 Pine Avenue, Riverside
Bill Seeger, 390 Fairbank Road, Riverside
Tom + Connie Guardi, 275 Gage Road, Riverside
Amy Jacksic, 340 Olmsted Road, Riverside
Ginny Lee‐Herrmann, 295 Lionel Road, Riverside
Catherine Love, 90 East Burlington Street, Riverside
Chris + Mary Jo Robling, 133 Herrick Road, Riverside
Elizabeth Gardner + Derrick Mancini, 91 Lawton Road, Riverside
Yueming Tang + ZhengYu, 2525 Westover Avenue, North Riverside
Kimberly Bolton, 54 Woodside Road, Riverside
Judy Mantel, 273 Nuttall Road, Riverside
Cyndi Robinson + Matthew Hane, 137 Woodside Road, Riverside
Darcy Lewis, 437 Uvedale Road, Riverside
Lisa Heckler + Dan Speziale, 323 Lionel Road, Riverside
Donald + Irys Spatny, 111 Woodside Road, Riverside
Amy + Don Mooney, 145 North Delaplaine Road, Riverside
Susanne + Will Vogel, 207 Scottswood Road, Riverside
Susan E. Locander, 487 Selborne Road, Riverside
Cynthia Gonya, 160 Fairbank Road, Riverside
Rachel Marrello, 61 Northgate Road, Riverside
Jacquie Mathis, 100 East Burlington Street, Riverside
Tom + Sumalee Latzke, 255 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Holly Machina + Jason Kinnan, 307 Lawton Road, Riverside
David Hrencecin + Victoria Burrell‐Hrencecin, 419 Addison Road, Riverside
Emil Plecko, 211 Scottswood Road, Riverside
Mary Lescher + Robert Bartolone, 129 Southcote Road, Riverside
Joseph M. + Valerie S. Cablk, 67 North Delaplaine Road, Riverside
Howard A. Brundage IV, 482 Longcommon Road, Riverside
Alan + Donna Keller, 522 Uvedale Road, Riverside
John M. + Susan K. Lynch, 316 Herrick Road, Riverside
Michael + Jennifer Straka, 67 Groveland Avenue, Riverside
Susan Shipper‐Smith + Theodore C. Smith, 350 Fairbank Road, Riverside
Victoria Schander, 420 Uvedale Road, Riverside
Christopher Marcou, 12 East Quincy #4, Riverside
Beth Marcou, 2430 Hainsworth Avenue, North Riverside
Eric Kollman, 403 Uvedale Road, Riverside
Paul + Lisa Cornelius, 2508 Hainsworth Avenue, North Riverside
Richard P. Tuscher, 3849 Woodside Avenue, Brookfield
Liane J. Blauw, 2236 5th Avenue, North Riverside
Alex Stamenkovic, 2236 5th Avenue, North Riverside
Patrick Calby, 181 Gage Road, Riverside
Alfred Kitch, 171 East Burlington Road, Riverside
Timothy M. Ozga + Aberdeen Marsh‐Ozga, 150 Nuttall Road, Riverside
Mark Roth + Anne M. Flynn, 83 North Cowley Road, Riverside
William J. Cochran, 220 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Henri + Faustina Varaneckas, 147 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Matthew Calby, 181 Gage Road, Riverside
John Mathews, 363 Downing Road, Riverside
Michael + Maddalena Flight, 373 Blackhawk Road, Riverside
Kelly Navarro, 37 South Delaplaine, Riverside
Andrew Agne, 215 Southcote Road, Riverside
David + Michaele Ann Pokraka, 456 Loudon Road, Riverside
Susan Farnham, 3800 Gladstone Avenue, Riverside
Francis J. Podbielski, 212 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Nancy + Matt Moyer, 2429 Burr Oak, North Riverside
Audrey + Doug Korslund, 270 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Colleen + Dean Toriumi, 211 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Barb + Gary Hudacek, 103 Bloomingbank, Riverside
Des + Krista Varady, 122 Nuttall Road, Riverside
William H. Anderson Jr., 190 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Jeff + Jacqueline Miller, 240 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Elizabeth Giannini, 127 Akenside Road, Riverside
Susan + Eric Joseph, 292 Fairbank Road, Riverside
Annette Peterson, 120 North Delaplaine, Riverside
Anne + Tim Adams, 77 Northgate Road, Riverside
George H. Hurst, 78 Pine Avenue, Riverside
Eva Lazzara, 95 Michaux Road, Riverside
Nikki Hajer, 300 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Dan + Debbie DeMichael, 97 South Herbert Road
Virginia Dorenbos, 94 Lawton Road, Riverside
Tom + Gretchen Lupfer, 325 Eastgrove Road, Riverside
Sarah Bernstein, 220 Northwood Road, Riverside
Gerry Goldsmith, 487 Selborne Road, Riverside
John Kunka, 229 Millbridge Road, Riverside
Leilani + Timothy Lauger, 740 Leesley Road, Riverside
Paul + Thea Marhoul, 174 Addison Road, Riverside
Catherine + Robert Kruse, 148 N. Delaplaine Road, Riverside
Cindy Kellogg, 411 Longcommon Road, Riverside
Elizabeth Fragoso + Branyo Dvorak, 178 W Burlington, Riverside
Michael Smith 189 Soutcote Rd. Riverside
Michael + Melissa Burns, 163 Maplewood Road, Riverside
Patrick + Loriann Duffy, 261 Maplewood, Riverside
Sander H. Kaplan + Theresa Pelletier, 283 Scottswood Road, Riverside
Therese A Cochran, 220 Maplewood Road, Riverside