The 2019-20 Salem-Keizer School Board (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
Salem-Keizer school board members will consider changing Superintendent Christy Perry’s contract at a Tuesday night meeting to reflect legislative changes to retirement benefits for public employees.
If the contract change is approved, Perry would have the option to retire and be immediately re-hired by the district, allowing her to collect retirement benefits while working full time.
The money Salem-Keizer was contributing to Perry’s retirement account would then go toward paying down the district’s pension liabilities. It’s part of a controversial bill Oregon lawmakers passed in the spring to cut public retirement benefits and take other steps toward paying down large pension debts.
Board members will read but not yet vote on a 10-year property tax exemption for Parke 325, a new 30-unit apartment building at 325 13th St NE. The City of Salem has already approved the proposal.
Board members will approve new grants, including $1.3 million from the state for migrant education, and about $900,000 to support students learning English.
They will hear an update on a community task force developing a plan to spend the $35 million Salem-Keizer expects to receive from the state as part of the Student Success Act.
Meeting details: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the district’s Support Services Center, 2575 Commercial St. S.E.
Board members: Kathy Goss, Sheronne Blasi, Marty Heyen, Jesse Lippold, Paul Kyllo, Satya Chandragiri and Danielle Bethell.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
