MacKay retiring from LCSD Board of Education

[Neubs24]

West Seneca Central School District will pay Interim Superintendent Whitney K. Vantine $750 a day, which works out to an annual salary of $195,000 a year.

The district released the contract for its new interim superintendent two days after School Board President Kate Newton refused to tell The Buffalo News how much Vantine would be paid. After the board appointed Vantine to the post Tuesday night, Newton first said the compensation was not public information, then said "it wouldn't be fair" to divulge it in public. She said the contract could be requested from the district clerk.

The News filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the contract.

Vantine will head the district starting May 1, while the School Board looks for a permanent superintendent. His pay is about the same pay as retiring Superintendent Mark Crawford, who is paid $194,105, according to his contract. Crawford is retiring April 28.



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Vantine will be paid at a much higher rate than the new superintendent hired by the slightly larger Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District on Wednesday night. Stephen A. Bovino, who had served as the Ken-Ton interim superintendent for the past three months, was unanimously appointed to take on the role permanently by the Ken-Ton School Board. He will be paid $165,000 a year to head the third-largest district in the Buffalo area.

Bovino had been paid $600 a day as Ken-Ton's interim superintendent.






The standard pay for an interim superintendent in Western New York is $650 to $700 a day, according to Robert W. Christmann, executive director of Western New York Educational Services Council. But he said an administrator's experience and past success as a superintendent can be a factor in determining compensation.

Vantine, 61, has served as a superintendent for 22 years at various districts, including the City of Tonawanda School District, retiring in 2012. Since then he has been a consultant for Wendel, and served as interim superintendent at Forestville.

A resident of Youngstown, he also will receive a monthly automobile stipend of $166.67, and $20 per month for the use of a mobile telephone. He will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, including mileage for official travel. He will not receive health insurance.

Vantine will not be paid for days he does not work, but he will be granted paid legal holidays consistent with other district administrators, and will have 12 days of leave to be used for illness, bereavement or personal business, according to the contract.

The contract runs through June 30, 2018, but it could be terminated by the School Board with 30 days written notice, or by Vantine with 60 days notice.

[Lee Chowaniec]

Lee, I have been told the New York State comptroller audit of the Lancaster schools is an opinion . Niche school rankings are no good , and business first is an almost bible . Seems everything that disagrees with you is not valid . Did Lancaster schools drop in rankings over the last 3-4 years according to the bible business first? Are the Lancaster school taxes to high? Are the contracts given to administrators of the school by the school board that drink together, eat together , and visit each other's homes outside of meetings a possible conflict of interest? As for the republican comment ,I vote for the candidate and will tell everyone I voted for Obama in 2008 because McCain is a flip flopper. The state testing has no reflection on rankings at this time. A former Lancaster school board president told me the rankings are a popularity contest. I ask this Lee , if things are so great why has the Lancaster teachers union failed to endorse any encumbent board member in 3 years? Maybe they see more then we do ?

Lee, I have been told the New York State comptroller audit of the Lancaster schools is an opinion . Niche school rankings are no good , and business first is an almost bible . Seems everything that disagrees with you is not valid .

Come on Greg, stop whining like a baby when someone posts facts challenging some of your disingenuous comments, opinions or facts from another source. Like the Town’s in-house independent audit and Comptrollers audit, only opinions are offered and with no consequence.

If you like your Niche analysis, you can keep you’re Niche audit. Don’t use it to cherry pick data that conflicts with BF and use it as the end all to further your agenda. I have been providing school stats for years based on BF analysis and there was never a boo or challenge from you and your group. Why now? Well, we all know why – bring down the administrator and some BOE members.

Did Lancaster schools drop in rankings over the last 3-4 years according to the bible business first?

2012-13 Lancaster District BF ranking – 13
2013-14 Lancaster District BF ranking – 9
2014-15 Lancaster District BF ranking – 6
2015-16 Lancaster District BF ranking - 8

Speaks for itself!

Are the Lancaster school taxes to high?

All my taxes are too high. I live in a unionized Blue State.

Are the contracts given to administrators of the school by the school board that drink together, eat together , and visit each other's homes outside of meetings a possible conflict of interest?

Do you have proof (pictures, etc.) to substantiate that claim?

As for the republican comment ,I vote for the candidate and will tell everyone I voted for Obama in 2008 because McCain is a flip flopper.

Well, that sure puts that to rest. But more will come of this when the Town elections heat up.

The state testing has no reflection on rankings at this time. A former Lancaster school board president told me the rankings are a popularity contest.

There is some truth to that; but mostly its sour grapes when the ranking doesn’t meet the district’s expectation. Who told you that, Greg? You never reveal your so-called sources; if there are any.

I ask this Lee , if things are so great why has the Lancaster teachers union failed to endorse any encumbent board member in 3 years? Maybe they see more then we do ?

IMO the union has no taste for favoring either side. And, they should not show candidate favoritism in the first place. To me that is a conflict of interest.

BTW Greg – You most likely read Neubs post (#91) on the Buffalo News report on Superintendent pay. You have posted numerous times your dislike for Dr. Vallely and have posted incorrectly that he is overpaid to the point that he makes more than four times an average teacher’s salary. That was a whopper. But here today we read what they are going to pay two interim superintendents – the one will be making more money than Vallely ($191,000) in a school district (West Seneca - $195,000) that is ranked 33rd in BF and the other (Ken-Ton- $165,000) ranked 53rd. And, Dr. Valley has a doctorate to boot and Lancaster is ranked 8th. And there are other Supers of similar size and smaller making more than Dr. Vallely.

As stated in the News report:

An administrator's experience and past success as a superintendent can be a factor in determining compensation – as well as having a doctorate.