Medfield School Budget Public Hearing Tonight

The fiscal year 2018 town budgeting process is underway, with the Medfield School Department currently looking at a 6.75 percent increase over last year's approved budget -- from $31,577,149 for fiscal year 2017 to $33,707,035 for 2018, according to a slide presentation distributed on Friday, Jan. 20 by Medfield Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden.

The Medfield community will have a chance to learn about the proposed school budget and ask questions at a public hearing, 7:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23 in the MHS Lowell Mason Auditorium. To see the school budget slides click here.

The slides indicate that Unit A (teacher) salaries for FY18 are primary cost drivers and represent a “market correction” that was agreed upon as part of the new collective bargaining agreement ratified in 2015. (The new contract has not yet been posted to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website; Oct. 1 was required filing deadline. The Medfield contract currently posted is for 2011-2014. For 2014-2015 (the year of teacher contract negotiations), average Medfield teacher salary was $78,845 based on a MA DESE report.

In addition to teacher compensation, superintendent salary is also part of the overall school budget. At its April 11, 2016 meeting, the Medfield School Committee voted to grant the superintendent a new five-year contract for July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2021 that included: a $214,106 salary for the first year of the contract (up 9.8% from the previous year), a $5,000 annual pre-tax retirement plan contribution, and a 2.5% percent annual pay increase for the remaining four years. The superintendent contract is a public document obtained through a Public Record Request; it was originally negotiated during Executive Session and approved at the April 11, 2016 School Committee meeting.

What is a typical Massachusetts superintendent salary?

Based on research conducted by TV station 22 WWLP reporter Ryan Walsh in 2015, the average Massachusetts superintendent salary was $161,133. While Medfield information was not listed in Walsh's report, based on a copy of the contract obtained from the School Department, Marsden was hired in April 2013 with a three-year contract and a $195,000 salary.

Based on a search of similar state salaries via Mass Live, here’s a sample of what other public officials earned in 2015:

Vice President, Mass College of Art -- $195,299

President of Berkshire Community College -- $194,675

Westwood Superintendent of Schools -- $193,388

Associate Justice, Supreme Judicial Court -- $187,403

District Attorney -- $178,159

Governor of Massachusetts -- $151,800