Groveport superintendent gets pay hike for second time in 5 months

View a previous report on the Groveport Madison district's decision to cut five jobs in May 2023 in the video player above.

GROVEPORT, Ohio (WCMH) – A Franklin County school district has boosted the salary of its superintendent for the second time in five months in an effort it said was to stay competitive in the market.

The Groveport Madison Local School District Board approved the pay hike during a special meeting last week, agreeing to pay Groveport Madison Superintendent James Grube a base salary of $215,000 for the last year of his initial three-year contract. The pay raise will take effect Aug. 1.

That same salary will be in effect with an added 3% annual increase for Grube’s next contract, which was approved in February and amended at Wednesday's meeting. It will run from Aug. 1, 2025, until July 31, 2030.

This is the second time in less than a year Grube’s contract has been amended: in February, the board voted to increase his salary from $175,000 to $190,000.

In addition, the new contract doubles Grube’s vehicle allowance from $3,600 to $7,200 annually ($600/month). The contract allows Grube to take this as an addition to his salary or put it into a retirement plan.

Grube is also entitled to 35 days (seven weeks) of vacation, with the option to convert unused time to salary, a retirement plan, or carry it over to the following year.

The decision to raise Grube's salary comes a little over a year after the district decided to cut five administrative positions, citing a deficit totaling more than $5 million over multiple years. The suspended positions include:

• Executive Director of Human Resources
• Director of Elementary Education and Teaching & Learning
• Director of Secondary Education
• High School Athletics Director
• ProgressBook Specialist

By contrast, Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman is earning a $265,000 base salary in the first year of her three-year contract. Reynoldsburg City Schools District Superintendent Dr. Tracy Reed signed a three-year contract starting in February 2023 with a base salary of $167,000 per year with a 2% increase annually. Bill Wise, the outgoing superintendent for South-Western City Schools who has served as superintendent for 17 years, was earning $264,580 at the time of his resignation; the district named Randy Banks as its new superintendent on Saturday with an annual salary of $265,000.

At a special board meeting this past week, Groveport residents who spoke were more against than in favor of the board approving the new contract.

Cheryl Irving, a retired Groveport languages teacher of 30 years, compared Grube’s new salary to the salary of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

“If we contrast the salary of Ohio’s governor Michael DeWine and Ohio has a 10 million-plus population, Gov. DeWine makes, a year, $168,106 a year and he’s a fine administrator and he has done great things for the state of Ohio,” Irving said. “I would like you to consider that as a contrast to the salaries we are offering here.”

Kenyetta Conwell, a Groveport parent and educator, said students need consistency in their education.

“What I do not support is the continuous negativity that is spewed about this team (Grube and deputy superintendent Paul Smathers) that has been chosen to guide our educational system,” Conwell said. “I believe that if you are not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

For its part, the board said a superintendent takes their first year to get to know the district and the second to build their cabinet.

“We have to meet the demand that’s out there for compensation,” board member Libby Gray said. “Our competition is other districts in Franklin County. We are not the top-paid position. We have to be able to compete and to keep leadership here, we have to compete. We have to be able to be willing to pay the compensation that is needed to get good leadership and consistency.”

Gray, board president LaToya Dowdell-Burger, and board vice-president Seth Bower approved the contract amendment; board members Kathleen Walsh and John Kershner were not present at the meeting.

Following the vote, Grube thanked the board for its vote of confidence in him and his team.

“If there is constant, frequent turnover, you’re in that reset mode, you’re in that onboarding and acclimation time, and I hope that we can continue to build upon and strengthen relationships with our families and with local government agencies and just with the community in general,” he said.

The two amendments to Grube's contract can be read below.