Superintendent Helena outlines proposed three-year contract; board recesses into executive session

Helena, superintendent of Brookings-Harbor School District 17C, presented a proposed three-year contract to the board that would give her a 6% pay increase in line with staff raises and includes several benefit changes, then the board recessed into executive session to consider employment matters.

The proposal, which Helena said she drafted with help from Rebecca and reformatted to match the district's current contract, would leave job duties unchanged while aligning her pay with the 6% increase granted to district staff. "My salary is my current salary with the 6% added to it, so same increase as the staff," Helena said. She added that the pay package "puts me solidly in the middle of what superintendents in this size school district make." Board members characterized the changes as reasonable.

The draft also adds Juneteenth to the holiday list and adjusts leave provisions. Helena said she removed paid bereavement language that had provided five days and increased sick leave in the draft to 14 days from 12 to match other staff. On additional duties, she said she "put an increase of $500 a month on the TSA" to compensate for performing the special education director role on top of her other responsibilities; the transcript also records discussion indicating a prior $1,000 figure and Helena saying, "I upped it." The exact final TSA figure appears in the draft language and was discussed but not read aloud in full during the session.

Board members asked for clarification about the insurance stipend language. Helena said the stipend option in her draft mirrors language used for other non-represented directors and noted the $13.70 reference is a pre-tax calculation that "comes out to about $930" per month before personal taxes. She said employees who already have other insurance may elect the stipend; union-represented groups use different cost-sharing arrangements.

Helena also raised the contract's severance/buyout provisions, noting that under Oregon law a superintendent contract either omits a buyout or must provide a full 12-month buyout if such a clause exists. "Legally, you either have to have the full 12 months the way it's written," she said, and added that future hires might want a buyout inserted.

With questions answered, the board moved to recess the regular session into executive session to consider the employment of a public officer under ORS 192.660(2)(a). The chair announced the recess; no formal roll-call vote was recorded in the public portion. The board paused public deliberations and left the matter for discussion in executive session.

The board is expected to return from executive session and continue its public agenda; any formal action on the superintendent's contract must be taken at a later, regular open meeting.