To better promote school improvement, the DeKalb School District 428 Board will soon consider whether to extend $85,000 in additional money through stipends to some school building administrators.

The added funding would come out of the district’s Title I 1003a grant funds, which are meant to pay for personnel expenses, such as administrative stipends, when the costs are directly tied to the planning, coordination, and implementation of school improvement work.

Huntley Middle School principal Treveda Shah said these stipends would be appreciated.

“All of the professional development that we need to do for ourselves and all the planning we need to do for the professional development of our staff is done on our own time,” Shah said. “Since the state allows under 1003a to take a portion of these funds towards administrator stipends, we would like to take advantage of that.”

The grant funding in question is set aside specifically for the leaders of certain schools listed as in designation or within their year for school improvement work, and may be used to offer building administrators a stipend.

Such funds, officials said, would go to help certain administrators account for time completing added paperwork, participating in professional development, and spending time in additional school improvement meetings, when leaders of other school buildings may not.

On average, the district’s principals and assistant principals logged 124 additional hours of time dedicated to their building’s designation, and the deans reported working 90 additional hours, district documents show.

Recipients of the stipends could include several school building administrators, including Shah, Cortland Elementary Principal Jennifer Hillard, Clinton Rosette Middle School Principal Brant Boyer, DeKalb High School Principal Donna Larson, and more.

Board President Chris Boyes questioned whether extending added funding to certain school building administrators could backfire on the district.

“What can of worms does this open for now?” Boyes said. “Every salaried employee in the district who doesn’t get the timesheet should now be paid for completing their job duties outside of the workday.”

In response, Deetra Sallis, the district’s director of human resources, said that’s not how the stipends would work.

“Everyone does work within their job responsibilities, but the designation, how that impacts the work that needs to happen in the building, extends beyond their regular job task,” Sallis said.

According to district documents, all other staff who engage in school improvement work are paid on an hourly timesheet for their time outside their contractual hours with Title I 1003a funds.

Boyes said he wanted it clear that he doesn’t oppose the board extending the administrator stipends. But he said he’s heard some administrators take issue with their peers in leadership when they have been granted added funding in the past.

“Sometimes when administrators get stipends, we’ll hear from other administrators, ‘That’s crazy that they got all that and we didn’t,’” Boyes said.

The school board is expected to put the stipends debate to a vote during its April 7 meeting.

Shah expressed appreciation to the school board for its ongoing support of building administrators.

“We are especially appreciative of the administrative stipends, which honor the significant time and dedication required to navigate the complexities of our recent designation status,” Shah said. “Your partnership and investment in our leadership team are vital as we work together to elevate academic standards and foster a thriving environment for every student.”