The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday approved a new three-year contract for superintendent Andrea Castañeda which would raise her $285,000 salary by the same percentage as the raise currently being negotiated with the district’s teacher union.
Board members praised Castañeda’s willingness to lead the district through a challenging cycle including budget cuts and tense union negotiations, and said they were grateful she wanted to remain in Salem.
“You are so smart. You are so passionate. You are exactly what we need at this time,” Chair Cynthia Richardson said before the vote.
Director Satya Chandragiri noted that Castañeda’s salary was lower than Portland-area districts, including Beaverton, despite her leading the second-largest school district in the state.
The vote was 6-1, with Director Krissy Hudson voting against renewal. Hudson said she appreciated the superintendent’s passion but wanted to see “more” from her, without elaborating, and said she wanted the vote to represent everyone.
“It makes me nervous that we continue to fall,” she said of the district.
Following the vote, Castañeda reiterated her commitment to Salem.
“I really only want to be here. It is my profound joy and sense of purpose duty and commitment that makes me choose this place,” she said.
She turned to face Hudson, adding, “I do believe that I could not be more dedicated to this work … but I also agree that there are always opportunities to lead with greater skill.”
Castañeda said she would continue a promise made under her earlier contract to donate $15,000 per year from her salary to local schools, students and youth-serving organizations.
The board approved all four curriculum adoptions 6-1, with Hudson voting no, and approved other agenda items unanimously.
Original story below:
The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday will vote on adopting new curricula for science, social science and world languages, the latest in a multiyear effort to modernize the materials teachers use in the classroom.
Board directors will also vote on a new three-year contract with Superintendent Andrea Castañeda, which would tie a raise of her current $285,000 salary to the raise given to district teachers this summer.
To participate
The Salem-Keizer School Board meets Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at the former Student Services Support Center, 2575 Commercial St. S.E.
Members of the public may sign up in advance to provide written, in-person or virtual public comment. People can sign up using the “request to speak” link on the agenda here.
Public comment sign-ups close at 3 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be streamed on CC:Media, channel 21 or on YouTube in English and Spanish and interpreted live in American Sign Language.
Castañeda became superintendent in 2023 and agreed to forgo a pay raise last year as the district cut millions from its budget. The school board voted in March to renew her contract for three years, until 2028.
Castañeda’s proposed contract calls for her pay to be raised July 1, and again in 2026 and 2027 at the same rate a licensed teacher would receive under the district’s contract.
That would include both a cost of living increase and a step raise reflecting an additional year of experience.
Those rates are not yet set because district leaders are currently bargaining with the union, but the district’s latest proposal is for a 3.5% cost of living raise.
The union’s current contract gives teachers a 4% raise for an additional year of experience.
If Castañeda received both increases, she would be paid $21,375 more, bringing her salary to $306,375.
New curricula
The school board will vote on four curriculum adoptions Tuesday to replace outdated textbooks and other materials like online portals.
Two are science textbooks for elementary and middle schools. The board will also vote on social science and world language materials for high schoolers. The language curriculum includes materials for Japanese, German, Spanish and French courses.
Curriculum adoptions follow a district process that includes ordering sample materials and evaluating them against both a district and state rubric.
High-scoring materials then get tested by teachers and students in classrooms and some schools. Families had a chance to review the materials in person at sessions in November and December. After gathering feedback, the district’s curriculum and instruction department then recommends a curriculum to the school board for adoption.
Other items
- The school board will vote on appointing Larry Trott to serve on the Willamette Education Service District’s board of directors. Trott is seeking another term.
- The board will vote on a new charter agreement for the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School from 2025-2030.
- The board will vote on proclamations recognizing Teacher Appreciation Week and Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
Source: salemreporter.com
