Superintendent Winfred Roberson announced a partial reorganization of administrative duties at the Davis school district office during Thursday’s meeting of the Davis school board, resulting in net savings of about $11,000 a year.

Roberson said the redistributed duties will go to existing staff members, and should make for improved services to students.

The changes were precipitated by the departure last month of Deputy Superintendent Kevin French, who took a job with the Acalanes Union High School District in Contra Costa County. Since 2008, French had been the district’s director of human resources and also provided administrative support to junior high and high school programs. That job combination was part of a 2008 administrative reorganization by then-Superintendent James Hammond when he eliminated the position of associate superintendent for educational services.

Matt Best, former principal of the Da Vinci Charter Academy program, has been promoted to assistant superintendent of human resources.

Under the reorganization announced Thursday, Best will provide administrative support to Davis High School and Da Vinci’s high school and junior high programs. Best’s title will be assistant superintendent of human resources and secondary program.

Pam Mari, director of student support services, will get new duties providing administrative support to programs at Emerson, Harper and Holmes junior high schools. Mari will fill the same role for the district’s alternative education programs — King High School, the Davis School for Independent Study and the Davis Adult School — in addition to retaining her student services portfolio. Her new title will be executive director of secondary programs and student services.

The third person involved in the reorganization is teacher Laura Juanitas, who had been serving as part-time coordinator of discipline under a variable services agreement. Juanitas will serve in a somewhat beefed-up part-time capacity performing similar duties as a teacher on special assignment,

French’s salary as deputy superintendent was $149,100, Mari was earning $108,073 and Juanitas received a stipend of $12,822. This made for a total of $269,995 for the three positions combined.

Under the reorganization, the position of deputy superintendent is phased out. Under their newly expanded job descriptions, Best will be paid $118,880 and Mari will be paid $113,219. Juanitas will receive a $26,218 salary for a position representing 0.45 of a full-time job. Taken together, the three positions total $258,317 — a $11,678 reduction from the previous arrangement of duties.

“This fills in the gaps of Hammond’s previous reorganization, at a cost savings,” Roberson told The Enterprise. “I consider it a cost-effective use of our human resources, and it gives us an opportunity to tap into Pam Mari’s talents as an instructional leader.”

Roberson added that this move will be part of the district’s continuing efforts to save money where it can, and quoted the maxim that “necessity is the mother of invention.”

The salaries for the positions held by Best and Mari are now listed as part of district’s administrative leadership team salary structure, which was posted as part of the agenda for Thursday’s school board meeting. The only district office administrators with individually negotiated contracts are Roberson and Associate Superintendents Bruce Colby and Clark Bryant. Colby handles business services and Bryant oversees elementary education, as well as curriculum and instruction.

Roberson said that moving the two administrative positions onto the salary schedule “is an opportunity to increase transparency to the public, bring some cost stability, and even predictability to administrative pay.”

Roberson’s proposal was approved by the school board after a brief discussion. Trustee Gina Daleiden noted that “while there may be an individual or two that has a salary increase, it is within a structure that saves the district money.” Trustee Tim Taylor made the same point, saying, “at the bottom line, we are saving money.”

— Reach Jeff Hudson at [email protected] or (530) 747-8055.

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