Greater Latrobe OKs 5-year compensation plan for administrators

Greater Latrobe School Board approved a five-year extension of its wage-and-benefit plan for most of the district’s administrators.

The Act 93 compensation plan, passed at this week’s board meeting, runs through the 2025-26 school year and covers 15 administrators across various departments and schools. In accordance with state law, the plan doesn’t include Superintendent Georgia Teppert, Assistant Superintendent Mike Porembka or Business Administrator Dan Watson, who have separate contracts.

The plan provides for an average annual wage increase of about 3%, though some administrators will see a greater percentage bump in compensation. Others will receive a lesser percentage, according to athletic director Mark Mears.

“We were treated very fairly,” said Mears, who served as the lead representative for the administrators in the meet-and-discuss process of developing the compensation plan.

Mears said administrators with the greatest experience at the district and highest pay will tend to receive lower-percentage raises — allowing for higher-percentage pay hikes for those who are paid less, without creating a burden on taxpayers.

Given the covid-19 pandemic and the toll it has taken on many businesses and their employees, Mears acknowledged, “The economy is tight.”

Mears said he accepted a wage freeze for the initial year of the Act 93 plan, noting he plans to retire in August, after 31 years at Greater Latrobe.

“We will probably see at least three administrators in this group potentially retire before this agreement is up,” Porembka said. “That will help to fund it in part.”

The affected administrators will continue to receive medical benefits similar to those provided for other district employees.

The administrators “worked with us and the district very well to get it all worked out,” school board member Bill Palmer said. “It’s very fair for all parties involved.”