Red Jacket school board members had considered not replacing a retiring principal’s position and making do with other administrators sharing that position’s duties. District officials recommended, instead, that the vacant position be filled and the salary lowered.

After hearing from Superintendent Robert Leiby, the Board of Education agreed last Wednesday to reduce the high school principal salary — $98,901 in 2010, according to the SeeThroughNY website listing public employees’ salaries — to $80,000, and to fill the position after Tim Benjamin retires effective June 30.

The decision was a difficult one, as the board struggled with whether to replace Benjamin or look internally and stretch the current administrators to cover the duties.

“I think we need a principal in every single building,” said Doug Gage. Gage said he wanted to keep their administrators the way they are. “These people aren’t sitting around at their desks playing cards,” he said. “They have full-time jobs and they are busy.”

Kristin Gray, school board vice president, said she did research that determined the district could not be run with fewer administrators. She said she compared districts of approximately the same size and found them to be running with at least as many administrators.

“We need to replace the principal,” agreed Michael Liberty, a school board member. “If we realign and shuffle administrators, it’s going to affect our students and I’m not willing to do that.”

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