Some Dolton West Elementary School District 148 Board members say they were excluded from discussions leading to a salary increase for Superintendent Kevin Nohelty, boosting his $450,000 salary by $30,000 each of the next two years.

During a packed meeting on Tuesday, board President Larry Lawrence explained that the decision to increase the salary, approved at a special meeting March 18, was because Nohely stayed on past his contract’s end date in June 2022 as the board searches for his replacement.

“This was not something premeditated, preplanned or orchestrated for money purposes,” Lawrence said.

In addition to Nohelty’s $450,000 salary, District 148 paid him an extra $87,000 in fiscal year 2024 in retirement enhancements and other benefits.

Lawrence attributed the upcoming increase, which will leave Nohelty making a $510,000 base salary by the end of his career, to a “perfect storm” that included struggles to find the right candidate to lead the district, which includes 10 early childhood, elementary and junior high schools.

He said under the new contract, Nohelty will mentor his successor, who has not yet been selected, for one year while the board searches for a chief school business official.

Lawrence complained that many of the people who showed up to the March 18 meeting and commented on Nohelty’s salary increase had not attended board meetings before and said that “most of their information was unfounded.”

“I’ll put it in this perspective — they missed the entire season, but they came in playoff time and want to tell us who to put in as quarterback,” Lawrence said. “It doesn’t work like that. We have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing and how we’re going about continuing this district to be successful.”

Board members Charles Givines and Shalonda Randle also criticized the raise, with Randle saying she was not included in any discussions with Nohely leading up to the finalized terms. Givines was not present at the March 18 meeting, but the contract passed 4-2 with Randle and Andrea Johnson voting against the salary increase.

Nohelty declined to comment Tuesday.Neighboring districts

Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Pedro Martinez’s yearly salary is $340,000.

Some Southland school districts have come under fire in past years for bloating salaries for administrators.

At Calumet City District 155, former Superintendent Troy Paraday made $432,000, the most of any superintendent in Illinois, until he was fired in 2019 for misconduct including padding his pay without authorization and misrepresenting the district’s financial status.

Paraday was fired less than a week before he was scheduled to retire and had calculated that the district owed him almost $1.8 million for three unused personal days, 532 unused sick days and 350 unused vacation days multiplied by his nearly $2,000 per diem rate.

The fiscal year 2024 base salary for District 155’s current superintendent, Joseph Zotto, was about $186,000, according to the district. He made an additional $66,000 in annuities, retirement enhancements and other benefits.

Dolton School District 149 Superintendent Maureen White’s base salary was $275,000 during the same year, with added benefits boosting her pay to about $339,000, according to the district.

District 148 opposition

Two people spoke during the public comment period Tuesday, with one person supporting the board and even passing out candy to the table, and the other denouncing the salary increase.

“Regarding Mr. Lawrence, I’m going to ask tonight that you resign your position for being the president, as well as on this board,” said Michael Smith, of Riverdale.

About 19% of District 148 students are proficient in English/language arts, according to the Illinois State Board of Education, compared with 39% statewide. In math a little under 7% of District 148 students are proficient compared with 28% of students across Illinois.

Randle also expressed frustration about a comment Lawrence made emphasizing the importance of finalizing an agreement with Nohelty before the school board election April 1, which creates uncertainty regarding the future makeup of the body.

Nine candidates are running for four four-year seats, with Randle, Givines, Johnson and Bruce Owens Jr. seeking reelection. Their challengers are Nancy Perkins, William F. Gunter Jr., Ernesto E. Mickens, Aritha D. Windom-Harvey and Sherrie M. Bush.

“Why are you predicting that new members coming on the board are so ignorant that they cannot make well-decided decisions and that they cannot be a part of the decision-making process?” Randle said.

She revisited Lawrence’s sports analogy, saying, “I’ve been at the practices — all the seasonal games or whatever you want to call it. I’m not coming and letting you pick the quarterback at the last minute. I’ve been here and I’m telling you, I have not been a part of the plays.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com