Marblehead school board opts not to give raise to superintendent

MARBLEHEAD- Despite a largely positive evaluation, Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac won’t be getting a raise this year.Dulac, who topped the 2008 town salary list with $173,330, was evaluated by School Committee members Tuesday during their retreat. The committee discussed raises for Dulac and other administrators."There was no raise given to the Superintendent. He is at zero percent along with the administration team," School Committee Chairman Dick Nohelty said."It is not indicative of his job performance in any way," Nohelty added, referring to the possibility of state aid reductions and the contracts the committee is still negotiating with teachers and other bargaining units.Dulac was evaluated on his relationship with the School Committee, budget skills, educational leadership, personnel management, knowledge, experience, judgment, community relations and annual goals.In general the School Committee members’ comments, listed anonymously, were positive but time and again committee members said that Dulac needs to condense and focus when he speaks in public."He is at his best when his remarks are short and concise," one member wrote. "Dr. Dulac sometimes has the tendency to circle a point and make it from too many directions, which dilutes the message and loses the audience.""I would hate to see his clarity of purpose disregarded because of the delivery, not the content, of the message."Another member wrote that Dulac "needs to do a better job listening. There is a sense that he often talks down, in a condescending way to the public at large, and in non-specific generalities without specifics. This is the No. 1 need for improvement."In terms of the budget, Dulac was praised for responding to state aid cuts. One committee member wrote, "(He) is not a Marblehead native. But as it pertains to controlling resources, he is as conservative as the town natives."However, one member called for more financial safeguards in time and labor tracking and warned, "There has not been a genuine effort to reduce wasteful spending within the budget and to sufficiently eliminate ineffective or unnecessary programs that could be used to support more important programs and initiatives."Dulac was praised for educational leadership but one member observed that his tireless support of his instructional focus "has lost (him the) support of a certain grouping of teachers, administrators and staff personnel. Sometimes less is more."And another comment: "The Superintendent needs to spend much more time in the trenches, leading the way, not just directing the way. Most importantly, he needs to spend more time listening."