District 97 Superintendent Gets New Contract

The District 97 school board gave a big thumbs-up to Supt. Al Roberts by giving him a new agreement that would keep him on the job through the 2015-2016 school year.

The board recently gave him a new contract - six months before the old one expired in June 2013 - with a 2.7 percent pay increase. His pay would be $200,265 for the current school year, board president Peter Barber said.

"We wanted to ensure he would remain here for an extended period of time," Barber said. "He's been a good, strong superintendent and done an outstanding job providing leadership to the district," he said.

Roberts signed a three-year agreement in 2010. The new contract is for four years and will take the place of his original one, Barber said. The original agreement was from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013; this one will go from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2016.

The issue of extending his contract arose around the time the board completed his required performance review in June. Barber said Roberts' performance led to a discussion about keeping him in the role for as long as they possibly could.

In addition that led to a discussion over if they were to extend his contract, they addressed how long Roberts might be interested in serving, Barber added.