School Committee Signs Contract with New Superintendent

and Dr. Stephen Russell agreed to a contract Wednesday night for the former Dartmouth superintendent to be the next Salem school superintendent.

Russell, who has 13 years of experience as a superintendent, agreed to a two-year term at a salary of $170,000 a year and a third optional year at the same salary plus the percentage increase that is negotiated in collective bargaining with the teachers.

Dr. William Cameron, the former superintendent, was slated to be paid $150,000, plus an additional $6,000 a year stipend to serve as the district's head of human resources. In coming years, had he remained in Salem, Cameron would have been paid about $160,000, plus the stipend, and more in the following year. That would have brought him close to what the committee agreed to pay Russell, although in the first year, he will get a premium, Committee member Jim Fleming said.

Russell will also head the human resources department, but will not be paid the additional stipend, Fleming said.

Fleming and Committee member Kevin Carr headed the negotiations with Russell, which took less than a week. The Committee took only about 45 minutes to deliberate on the contract. They met in executive session, then returned to open session to vote for the contract.

“This is a fair contract for me and the community,” Russell said. He praised the committee for being fair. “That is one of the reasons I like Salem,” he said.

Russell will receive 20 sick days and can accrue up to 90 sick days, but he is not allowed to sell the days back to the district. He will be reimbursed for his travel in the state to only one meeting — the annual conference of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

The committee gave him a $1,500 allowance to help him move from Dartmouth to Salem. Russell and his wife, Edith, have already begun looking for a residence in Salem.

He will have the same health insurance plan that the teachers have.

After the contract was signed, he said he was happy with the three-year term. Being new to the district, a longer term would not have been appropriate, he said.

In Dartmouth, he has asked for a five-year contract, which he thought was appropriate, given that he had headed the district for eight years. He also wanted a higher salary than the Dartmouth board was willing to offer.

Russell begins work on Monday.