WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioNiles teachers angry over superintendent pay

Niles teachers angry over superintendent pay

NILES, Ohio - The superintendent of Niles City Schools will be retiring a little earlier than expected.

Comments made by Rocco Adduci regarding his successor may have caused the board of education to take action.

The Niles Board of Education placed Superintendent Rocco Adduci on paid administrative leave for the rest of his contract which concludes at the end of July.

The board won't say why, but it's likely due to e-mails he sent to the board criticizing them for paying new superintendent Mark Robinson $110,600.00 a year, almost twenty thousand dollars more than what Adduci currently makes.

The superintendent didn't show up at the board meeting and he didn't respond to our calls for comment.

But well over a hundred people did show up to the meeting; most of them teachers who are angered that they took cuts in the last contract only to have the new superintendent get a raise.

Teacher Mike Guarnieri said "How can you justify paying a leader X amount of dollars and say no to all these faces and all children in the schools."

According to the school board they are paying Robinson for what his experience is worth.

Board president Marlene Jones said "We knew we were going to get in the 100 to 110 range just by looking at salary requirements of the applicants when they submitted their initial applications."

Another board member said he didn't want to settle for someone with less experience just to save a few thousand dollars.

Meanwhile, the teachers union continues to negotiate with the district on a new contract. Their current agreement expires August 28th.