In a year where the mayor has decreed that there will be no spending increases in the city, the Westbrook School Committee is considering a budget that provides raises for administrators while the proposed city budget holds administrative salaries flat.

Unlike the city, whose administrators do not work under an employment contract, school administrators are signed to a contract. The administrative raises are negotiated into the contract, and they are not discretionary raises, according to School Committee Chairman Colleen Hilton.

A look at the top paid officials in the city show that School Department administrators hold the top three spots. Superintendent Stan Sawyer is first at $109,250. Assistant Superintendent Mike Kane and Curriculum Director Jan Breton are second, each with a salary of $86,363.

The rest of the top 10 highest paid city officials come from the city side. City Administrator Jerre Bryant is the fourth highest paid administrator in the city, with a salary of $85,483. Next on the list is Police Chief Paul McCarthy at $68,242, who is followed by Finance Director Susan Rossignol, $66,773; Public Services Director Tom Eldridge, $66,414; Fire Chief Gary Littlefield, $62,676; Director of Economic and Community Development Erik Carson, $57,443, and Director of Human Resources Tina Crellin, $56,934.

Unlike the city department heads, who are scheduled to receive no salary increase in the proposed 2005-2006 budget, Sawyer, Kane and Breton’s proposed salary figures are all increased from the previous budget.

Kane and Breton are covered by a one-year contract that was signed in July of last year. That contract brought their salaries to an equal plane of $84,052. That contract expires on June 30 of this year, and while the new contract has not been negotiated, the school has budgeted a 2.75 percent raise for both Breton and Kane.

In Sawyer’s case, he is covered by a contract that is negotiated with the School Committee. Hilton said the committee evaluates Sawyer on an annual basis, and last negotiated his salary in the fall. At that time, the committee elected to give Sawyer a 6 percent raise, from $103,480 to $109,250.

Sawyer was out of the office and could not be reached for comment for this story.

Hilton pointed out that while Sawyer is the highest paid city official, he is not the highest paid superintendent in the area. “When you look at comparisons, he was close to the top, but he’s not at the top,” she said. “He is not at all on the high side.”

One other savings is the fact that Sawyer does not take the health insurance benefits offered by the School Department, Hilton said. She said those benefits are worth approximately $14,000 annually.

“There’s no benefit cost to him,” she said.

When asked about Breton’s salary being brought in line to that of the assistant superintendent, Hilton said Breton’s responsibilities have become broader since she was hired. She said Breton has also been sought after by other school systems. By increasing her salary to a level equal to the assistant superintendent, Hilton said the School Committee was “just trying to be thoughtful about retention.”

In addition, according to the School Department payroll office, some of Breton’s salary was offset by grants that allow school department’s to use some of the grant money to pay administrative salaries. The School Department was unable to provide the exact amount of Breton’s salary that is covered by grant money, and Breton couldn’t be reached for comment.

The raises are not limited to the top school administrators. Like Breton and Kane, all of the individual school principals are scheduled to receive a 2.75 percent raise. School Committee member Tim Crellin, who sits on the committee’s Finance Committee, said those raises are contractually obligated as well.

Crellin said the principals are all unionized employees and they are covered by a contract between the School Department and the Westbrook School Administrator’s Association. That three-year contract was signed last year, and it runs until June 30, 2007.

Mayor Bruce Chuluda said that in formulating the city budget, the administration made the decision to hold administrative salaries level in order to achieve the goal of a flat-funded budget. “We really don’t have a choice,” Chuluda said. “We’re trying to control spending. We’re trying to keep everything as flat as we can on the expense side.”

Chuluda said the administration does not have a great deal of control over the school budget. The mayor and the City Council do not have the power to make specific adjustments to the school budget. They can set only the total amount of the budget. He added that if the school salary increases were mandated by contracts, there was not a whole lot that could be done regarding the increased costs.

City Council President Jim Violette said he has a problem with administrators getting large raises, even contractually obligated ones, in a tight budget year. He added that the schools should search for other ways to reduce their budget, rather than cutting programs that directly affect students.

“If the school is interested in preserving programs for the children, then maybe they should take a look at their pay structure and see where the money can come from,” Violette said.

Local political activist Ray Richardson, who has been a vocal critic of the school budget in the past, said he was vehemently against giving school administrators raises in a year when budgets are especially tight, and property tax reform is on everyone’s minds. “I think it’s terrible,” Richardson said. “It says to me there is a total lack of understanding on their part.”

Richardson added that he felt that the school administration was top-heavy. “I think we have too many bureaucrats in the school system,” he said.