Portland Public Schools is giving raises averaging about $15,000 to roughly 30 of its very top managers and lawyers amid a budget climate so bad that 70 teaching positions are on the chopping block.

The Portland school board approved raises for a wide range of staff who aren't represented by a union, including these top employees, in December after auditors told Oregon's largest school district its employees pay was low. The board unanimously signed off on the raises again when it approved the budget for the coming year last week.

But the magnitude of the raises for those at the very top -- including assistant superintendents, human resource and special education directors, four top lawyers and senior directors who oversee principals -- was masked in the larger pool of raises that averaged about 6 percent. The top employees got raises that, on average, exceeded 10 percent.

"It is a sacrifice, but we can't lose our best people," McKean told The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday, noting that many high-level jobs are vacant. The reason people leave isn't just salary, he said, but it's part of the equation.

"Everybody does really important work — there is no doubt about it — but when you get to some of these levels you just really have to bite the bullet," he said.

Biting the bullet in this instance meant giving large raises to people in some of the highest paying positions. Assistant Superintendent Antonio Lopez and the fleet of eight senior directors he manages as they oversee principals all got 12 percent raises. That means Lopez's $147,600 salary will get a $18,200 bump. The seniors directors' $129,300 salaries will rise by $16,300.

McKean said adjustments were necessary in some cases so that supervisors made more than the people they manage. In a few awkward cases, district officials noticed after they raised principals' salaries, some bosses made less than the people they supervised.

This past school year has been a time of tumultuous transition for Portland Public Schools as it worked to remake its image after a lead in drinking water crisis. Many critical employees left and those who remain have had to pick up the slack.

What staff has been able to accomplish under stressful circumstances has been incredible, said Deputy Chief Executive Officer Yousef Awwad, but the strain is untenable. It's critical to fill those jobs, and hiring will be hard even with this adjustment, he said. He personally is getting no raise in his $189,000 salary.

"Portland is an expensive city and it does take a certain amount of money to attract quality people," Awwad said. "It's difficult to attract quality people unless you can offer them quality salary."

Jobs that are empty or filled on a temporary basis include one of two assistant superintendents, the chief financial officer, chief technology officer, human resources director, chief of staff, deputy chief financial officer, deputy human resources director, one senior legal counsel and the chief of communications and public information.

The district plans to give teachers raises retroactive to July 1 once the union and management agree on a new teachers contract, McKean said. How large those raises will be is a subject of negotiation.

-- Bethany Barnes

@betsbarnes

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