New Contract, 2 Percent Raise For Fairfield Superintendent

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield’s superintendent received a raise and an extension on his contract after the school board voted unanimously to keep him in the district’s top spot through June 2023 and increase his base salary by 2 percent for the new school year.

Mike Cummings, who replaced former superintendent Toni Jones last summer, was originally hired on a base salary of $223,000. A 2 percent raise would bring that number to more than $227,000.

“We appreciate your thoughtful, ethical leadership,” board Chair Christine Vitale said Tuesday, after the vote was taken via teleconference.

Cummings had a strange first year as superintendent, during which outside forces caused “one crisis after the other,” Vitale said.

The school year began with the discovery of elevated contaminants — including arsenic — at some district facilities, uncovered in the wake of an investigation that led to financial and environmental charges against town employees in connection with the management of the Fairfield fill pile. The year ended with students studying from home after the district was forced to close school buildings in an effort to prevent transmission of the coronavirus as the pandemic spread across Connecticut.

“We’re looking forward to working with you in the upcoming year,” Vitale said. “… I hope that we get to do that work in person, in school buildings, and together.”

The 2020-21 school year will likely be somewhat unpredictable as well, with the continued impact of the virus unknown. The state released a plan Thursday for what students’ return to classes could look like in the fall.

“It’s been a long haul,” Vitale said. “We’re not done yet.”

Prior to becoming superintendent in Fairfield, Cummings had a long career in the Milford school system before joining Fairfield’s district in 2015 as director of elementary education and later chief academic officer.