At Their Request, No Raise for Solehi Administrators

The Southern Lehigh School Board unanimously approved the salaries of four administrators for the 2011-2012 academic year during . At the request of the administrators, salaries remained at the 2010-2011 level.

The annual salaries were set at $144, 344 for Superintendent Joseph Liberati, $124,819.34 for Assistant Superintendent Leah Christman, $127,149.74 for Director of Business and Personnel Services James Snell, and $90,986.93 for Human Resources Administrator William Kennedy.

The request to hold salaries comes amid budget talks for the 2011-2012 school year. The school district, which is projecting a significant over the next four years, is discussing budget cuts and contemplating tax increases and personnel cuts. School Board President, Michael Eddinger described the request as “a very, very important moment for us.”

“[The administrators] took it upon themselves with no prompting from the school board, and they came to the school board saying, ‘we are willing to accept no raise,” Eddinger said. “We sincerely appreciate the effort, thank you,” he said to the administrators present at the meeting.