Rochester proposes tying superintendent pay to student performance

School board members in Rochester will decide Tuesday whether future salary increases for the superintendent should be tied to student performance, graduation rate and other benchmarks.

The proposed three-year contract would pay Superintendent Romain Dallemand just under $172,000. It would allow for raises only in the form of performance bonuses.

Board Chair Mechelle Severson said tying the superintendent's future salary increases to student achievement reinforces the need to make achievement a top priority.

"For the superintendent to have his salary increases tied directly to student achievement to me is simply recognition of the law that legislates what we are doing as public schools today, and that is we are charged to have all student proficient by 2014," Severson said.

If approved, Seversen says it will be the first time the Rochester School Board ties a superintendent's bonuses to student performance. She says about 20 percent of contracts around the state have a similar system.