East Granby taxpayers face a vote on a school administrator contract that locks in six-figure salaries through 2030 — with high school principals in line for over $205,000 by the contract's final year — while the same district needs a separate $40,000 appropriation just to replace doors at the middle and high school.
The agreement, which the Board of Education has already recommended for ratification, runs from July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2030. It bears the signatures of school board Chair Bob Paskiewicz and association negotiations Chair Antonio DeMelo, according to the town's official meeting notice.
The salary schedule tells the story. A high school principal would start at $193,765 in 2027-28 and climb to $205,565 by 2029-30. Middle school principals would rise from $182,181 to $193,276. Elementary school principals go from $179,021 to $189,924. Even the high school assistant principal starts at $166,305. The Director of Integrated Learning starts at $164,423 and reaches $174,436 by year three. New hires could be brought in at 8 percent below to 4 percent above the listed amounts. A doctorate earns a one-time $1,500 stipend.
Meanwhile, the health insurance cost shift for these administrators is marginal: employee shares for the high-deductible plan inch from 21.5 percent to 22 percent, and the HMO share moves from 24.5 percent to 25 percent — a fraction of a percentage point that barely dents the overall compensation packages taxpayers are expected to fund.
Then there's the separate $40,000 Capital Non-Recurring Fund request for middle and high school doors. The meeting notice describes it only as an appropriation "not to exceed $40,000" and provides no further details about the proposed work. That's a basic infrastructure need — doors — competing for attention alongside a contract that guarantees administrators roughly 3 percent annual raises across three years.
The Patch covered the contract figures and the door appropriation straight, listing the salary schedules and meeting details. The Staten Island Advance, by contrast, had nothing on East Granby's taxpayer obligations — its education coverage was devoted to a private Catholic school's cheerleading squad roster.
The vote is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the MaryEllen Brown Senior/Community Center. The question for East Granby residents: when basic building maintenance requires a separate funding request while administrators sail past $200,000 in guaranteed compensation, who is this system actually serving?
