Trustees in Idaho’s largest school district approved a 20% raise for superintendent Derek Bub earlier this year, but never discussed the agreement in an open public meeting.
Trustees approved a new superintendent’s contract on April 11, board minutes show. The approval followed no discussion and was included in the meeting’s consent agenda, which trustees typically use to OK a cluster of non-controversial items through a single vote.
The contract, dated April 11 and included in a link on the agenda ahead of the meeting, puts Bub’s 2022-23 salary at $210,000, a 20% increase from his current salary of $175,000.
By comparison, West Ada teachers will receive a 6.28% average salary bump from last school year.
West Ada board chair Lori Frasure said the salary hike was based on a “strong performance” and “analysis of districts within Idaho and neighboring states.”
Former chairman Rusty Coffelt led the board at the time the contract was approved, but he resigned on April 25, citing family matters.
West Ada spokesman Greg Wilson defended Bub’s raise, and the process, saying it’s common for districts to have contract and hiring approvals on consent agendas.
“In the case of the April 11, 2022 West Ada Board meeting, the superintendent’s new contract and the evaluation were posted, and the Board provided 30-minutes for public comment on any issue on the agenda.”
Bub’s new three-year contract takes effect July 1 and also includes incremental raises “at least equal to that paid to other administrators for each of the succeeding years” until the contract ends.
Bub’s salary increase makes him Idaho’s highest paid K-12 superintendent. Boise trustees Monday approved a raise for superintendent Coby Dennis — a 4.5% hike that brought his salary from $183,604 to $191,866.
West Ada serves some 39,000 students in Ada and Canyon counties.
Here’s a look at Idaho’s top-paid administrators in 2021-22:
- Scott Thomson, North Idaho Charter STEM Academy: $193,500
- Coby Dennis, Boise: $183,604
- Derek Bub, West Ada: $175,000
- James Foudy, Blaine County: $168,000
- Norma French, Caldwell: $166,771
- Shon Hocker, Coeur d’Alene: $165,000
- Thomas Albertson, Lake Pend Oreille: $159,705
- Lisa Roberts, Boise: $158,417
- Scott Woolstenhulme, Bonneville: $156,150
- Douglas Howell, Pocatello-Chubbuck: $155,945
