MCPS superintendent’s new contract includes increased pay, leave

Term runs through June 2024

MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith speaks during a press conference in November. File photo

Along with a $25,000 pay increase, subject to annual raises, Montgomery County schools Superintendent Jack R. Smith will accrue 55 days of leave and receive an increase in the school board’s payment to his retirement fund under a new contract.

Smith, 62, was reappointed as MCPS superintendent last week, and his new employment contract was made available late Friday afternoon. The contract includes details about how his performance will be reviewed, the board’s obligation to provide legal representation if Smith is sued, and information about his compensation and benefits.

Smith will receive a $315,000 salary the first year of the contract, set to run from June 2020 through June 2024. Each year after, Smith will receive a raise equal to what is given to members of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals. The school board will also conduct a performance review and determine if Smith should get an additional raise, according to the contract.

“When considering whether an additional increase is appropriate, the Board should take into consideration factors such as the Superintendent’s performance evaluation, fiscal realities, and increases (or lack thereof) given to MCPS employees in general,” the contract says. “Whether any such additional increase is awarded is in the Board’s absolute and sole discretion.”

At $290,000, Smith currently ties with Baltimore County for the third highest-paid superintendent in Maryland. If no other superintendents were to get a raise in 2020, Smith’s salary would be the highest in the state. When he was hired in 2016, Smith’s salary was $275,000.

Smith’s contract also says the school district will pay for his membership in various associations and for professional development opportunities.

He will receive 30 days of annual leave, as well as 25 days of sick and personal leave. Unused annual leave can carry over from year to year and if any remain at the end of his contract will be paid out, according to the contract.

Unused sick days can also be carried over from year to year, and Smith can cash in up to half of unused days each year. The superintendent will be paid for up to half of his unused sick leave at the end of the contract.

He will be provided a vehicle for both school district and personal use and the school district pays for gas, insurance, maintenance and repairs, the contract says.

Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@bethesdamagazine.com