Troy 30-C superintendent gets raise; new board members to take seats Tuesday

SHOREWOOD – Troy School District 30-C’s superintendent is getting a nearly $5,000 pay increase after the raise was approved Wednesday by the school board.

The board voted, 6-1, in favor of the raise, with member Kristin Dawn Cross as the lone dissenter, Superintendent Todd Koehl said Thursday.

The 2.5 percent increase will see Koehl’s annual pay jump from $188,136 to $192,900 as of July 1, Koehl said. The raise amount was set by the board after an evaluation of Koehl’s performance.

His last raise was a 2.7 percent increase, approved about a year ago. There is no raise scheduled for Koehl next year, but another performance evaluation that could lead to a pay increase will take place.

Board President Mark Griglione said the board’s goal in approving Koehl’s most recent raise was to keep the superintendent’s salary aligned with the pay other Troy administrators receive.

“He’s doing a great job for us,” Griglione said Thursday.

Cross said she voted against the raise because she felt it was unfair to district taxpayers.

“It’s not about his work ethic,” she said Friday.

Board reorganization

A school board reorganization meeting will be held Tuesday, after the votes from the April 4 election are finalized, Koehl said.

Incumbents Griglione and Catherine Besler are among two of four candidates who will be starting new terms on the board. Joining the board are incoming members Sabrina Price and, according to unofficial results from the Will County Clerk’s Office, write-in candidate Jerry Bené.

Bené beat out fellow write-in candidate Keith Jorstad, with 206 votes to Jorstad’s 32. He is a first-time candidate, former Marine and self-employed information technology professional. Bené decided to run as a write-in candidate when he realized not enough candidates had filed petitions to fill the four open seats on the ballot.

“I knocked on a lot of doors and I talked to a lot of people,” he said Friday.

His goal for the board is to improve Troy’s performance in meeting state standards, relative to its neighboring districts.

Attempts to reach Price were unsuccessful.