Jericho school chief accepts 5-year freeze

Amid clamor over school chiefs' salaries, Jericho Superintendent Henry Grishman is taking a five-year pay freeze.

Grishman, 66, acknowledged Wednesday he'll still do well under the extended cap, which an official with the state superintendents' council said appears to be the only one of that length in New York. He will continue collecting the equivalent of this year's $288,794 base pay through the 2015-16 school year, along with $134,000-plus in annual benefits and payouts for unused sick days.

In recent months, a host of critics, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, have targeted superintendents' pay -- notably, the record $405,244 paid Superintendent Carole Hankin in the neighboring Syosset-Woodbury district. Hankin has announced she'll take a freeze next year.

The Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative think tank in Albany, singled out Grishman along with Hankin and seven other Long Island school administrators as the highest paid in the state, with total compensation packages in 2009-10 ranging from $351,946 to $657,970 for a superintendent who retired.

Grishman, chief executive of one of Long Island's highest-achieving school districts, said he hopes his acceptance of the pay freeze will help set a positive new tone. "I recognize we're in difficult economic times," Grishman said in a phone interview. "Not only public-school administrators' salaries, but also teacher salaries, have been in the spotlight. So I think this is a time for all of us to rethink our salaries and benefits."

The proposed new five-year contract -- posted on Jericho's website -- is expected to win approval at a school-board meeting Thursday. Other administrators and teachers in the district already have agreed to total or partial pay freezes for the 2011-12 school year.

Robert Lowry, deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, noted that hundreds of districts statewide currently are holding the line on school chiefs' pay -- or even cutting salaries in certain instances. Nonetheless, Lowry said he believes the duration of Grishman's pay freeze makes it unique.

"I'm not aware of anybody making that long a commitment in advance," he said.

Grishman has served 33 years as a superintendent and is a past president of the state superintendents council. He now serves on governing boards of national and state superintendents' groups.

The schools chief regards his job in the 3,000-student Jericho district as the high point of his career. Last month, The Washington Post ranked the district's high school No. 1 on Long Island and 76th nationwide in terms of student access to college-level courses.

Locally, Grishman's five-year freeze won applause from supporters and critics alike.

"I think it's a very good move on his part," said Saundra Gumerove, an attorney and former school board member who has clashed with the superintendent in the past and has criticized the district on class-size issues. "Cuts should start at the top."

Joseph Lorintz, the board's current vice president, views Grishman's new contract as evidence of his commitment to Jericho and the Island.

"There's a strong message there . . . of the superintendent's love of the community and giving back to the community," Lorintz said.