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Resident questions rising costs, superintendent pay and staff payouts at East Allegheny meeting
Summary
A resident urged the board to explain a 30% budget increase over five years, rising district debt, a recent superintendent pay increase and whether an off-payroll former employee is still receiving benefits.
Alan Eichler identified himself during public comment and pressed the board on district finances, saying the school budget had grown "30% in the past 5 years" and that district indebtedness "has doubled in the past 3 years to over 5,000,000." He framed his remarks as a taxpayer concerned about high costs and the impact on residents on fixed incomes.
Eichler questioned recent superintendent compensation, saying that when the current superintendent was appointed he received a raised salary, "When mister d Luzenti was appointed superintendent in June, he was given a $23,000 raise... close to a 190,000 in his fifth year." Eichler said the contract provided full tuition reimbursement, a benefit others in the district do not receive, and suggested the district could have used funds for supplies or additional teacher pay instead.
Eichler also asked whether a former staff member, identified as Barb Pagan, was still being paid and receiving benefits during the final year of a contract. He described the district as paying roughly "$115,000 in salary and thousands more in benefits" while receiving no work from the person in question and asked why that arrangement continued.
In response to concerns about the district's finances, an administrator (Clerk, speaker 6) acknowledged the public's concern and said the district expects grant and other incoming money, stating: "we're getting a little over 400,000 from Amazon... If you go through the state, we got hopefully 9,000,000 extra from the state." The response framed the incoming funds as part of the district's financial picture but did not address each of Eichler's specific requests about salaries and the named former employee.
The public comment closed with Eichler reiterating concerns about indebtedness and urging the board to provide clearer justification of compensation and benefits decisions. The board did not provide a detailed accounting in the meeting record; follow-up requests for specific payroll or contract details would be needed to substantiate or refute the claims made in public comment.
