Metts's Raise Draws Fire From Staff
By David Nakamura Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday , July 4, 2000 ; B03
Some Prince George's County principals and teachers criticized the school board yesterday for giving Superintendent Iris T. Metts a 12 percent pay raise and a $10,000 bonus, and they criticized Metts for accepting any raise at a time when she is cutting back administrative staff and has yet to work out a pay increase for employees.
The Board of Education voted Sunday, during a weekend retreat at the Rocky Gap resort in Flintstone, Md., to raise Metts's annual compensation package by $20,000 a year--to $196,000--in addition to giving her one-third of the performance bonus she is eligible to receive annually.
Doris Reed, executive director of the county's union of principals and administrators, called Metts's acceptance of a raise "hypocritical" because she has been eliminating central office positions and recently demoted 26 vice principals.
"You cut all these positions, [lay off] people, put them back as teachers--why do you do it? So you can get the money?" Reed said. "You take school-based people away from the students to put money in your own pocket?"
The rancorous reaction to Metts's raise illustrates the growing skepticism of some school employees toward Metts, who they say has failed to win their trust since arriving in July 1999 from Delaware, where she had spent the previous 10 years.
Over the past year, Metts has moved to restructure management of the school system, saying the changes will improve efficiency and accountability. She has noted repeatedly that an audit of the system in July 1998 called for many of the changes.
But some educators have complained that Metts has reduced critical staff, increasing the workload for others. They also argue that salaries for teachers and principals in Prince George's still lag badly behind those in Montgomery County--as much as $15,000 for principals and $7,000 for teachers.
Metts used the difference between her pay and that of Montgomery Superintendent Jerry D. Weast as part of her argument for a raise. Even with the raise, Metts is paid substantially less than Weast, whose base salary is $237,000 a year and who is eligible for bonuses that could bring total compensation to nearly $300,000.
She also noted that the scarcity of experienced superintendents made her value in the open market far greater than what she agreed to in her four-year contract: $160,000 in base pay, with a $10,000 annuity and $6,000 for car expenses.
"Some say superintendent is the toughest job in America," Metts said. "I think [the raise] is fair. They . . . decided to be committed to me. I'm committed to this district, too."
Ken Bernstein, a social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, said yesterday: "Part of their justification is supposed to be to bring [Metts] parallel with other districts, like Montgomery, but at the same time, school teachers are not being brought parallel. She has a major credibility problem, and this will not solve the issue. She may have been entitled, but even if she was, why not set an example and forgo it another year?"
Metts, who earmarked $28 million for employee raises in the budget for the coming school year, recently opened negotiations with the teachers union and probably will begin talks with principals in the fall.
School board member Doyle Niemann (Mount Rainier) said the board believed that Metts had "done what we asked her to do: put resources in the classroom, improve accountability, evaluate principals and other staff. That should be recognized."
Niemann called the complaints "petty carping by people with other agendas."
Jack Bailer, a parent activist, said he believes that Metts "has taken a tough job and gotten off to a productive start. I'm glad the board decided to be supportive."
© 2000 The Washington Post Company