Hatboro-Horsham Superintendent Gets $21K Pay Raise

HATBORO/HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —During the public comment portion of Monday's Hatboro-Horsham School Board meeting, two women asked why a pay raise for the schools superintendent was never discussed.

One resident asked the nine-member school board if Schools Superintendent Scott Eveslage's raise was on the agenda for the March 20 meeting.

On the live stream video of the meeting viewed by Patch, the woman waits for an answer for about 20 seconds and upon hearing nothing, shrugs, says thanks, and walks away.

School Board President David Brown states to the audience after public comments have ended that the pay increase was on the March 20 agenda and approved unanimously.

In a statement provided to Patch, Brown explains the decision:

Brown said the March 20 agenda included a "contract modification" for the superintendent. And that the reason for his $21,088 pay raise was that another district was trying to lure Eveslage away.

"Dr. Eveslage’s contributions to HHSD have not gone unnoticed by the board or by outside school districts," Brown said. "While undergoing superintendent searches, multiple local school districts have reached out and expressed their interest in hiring Dr. Eveslage."

Brown said that after the district learned about a "recent overture" made by another school district. The district was not named in the statement.

The school board met in executive session to discuss "the implications of the possible departure of Dr. Eveslage" and incentives to retain him, Brown said.

"The board determined it was prudent to show its unanimous support and commitment to Dr. Eveslage as the leader of the district by modifying his contract. The board vote to amend Dr. Eveslage’s contract was both bipartisan and unanimous," Brown said in the statement.

Eveslage’s salary prior to the amendment was $228,912. He now earns a $250,000 salary.

The pay raise was found under Human Resources Action Items and labeled Employment Agreement Amendment. It is near the bottom of the second page of a list of human resources actions including hires, resignations, and changes of status.

The agenda item reads: "Approve amendment to the employment agreement between the board of school directors and Scott T. Eveslage, Ed.D., effective Jan. 1, 2023."

"Happily for us, Dr. Eveslage has remained committed to serving the HHSD community and we look forward to continuing to work together for the benefit of the Hatboro and Horsham communities," Brown said.