The St. Louis Park school board has locked in Superintendent Carlondra Hines’ three-year contract a full year before it was set to expire, with her compensation climbing from about $260,000 in the first year to more than $270,000 by the time the deal ends in 2030. The early extension has drawn pushback from teachers and parents who say the raise comes while classrooms grow more crowded and basic supplies run thin.
According to KSTP, some speakers at the meeting asked the board to pause the early contract extension altogether. Board members, however, said the move was meant to keep the district stable and avoid a difficult superintendent search. School board chair Virginia Mancini told the outlet that finding a new superintendent is labor-intensive, destabilizing, and costly, and that the advance deal was a courtesy to Hines that helped keep the district running smoothly.
Board member Sarah Davis said the district would likely pay more for a new superintendent if it launched a search right now, and noted that a search would also mean paying a search firm and holding additional paid board meetings. Board members said they compared superintendent salaries in similar school districts before settling on the terms, the station reported.
Teachers Say Classrooms Are Already Stretched Thin
Teacher Meghan Settingsgard told the station that class sizes are larger than they have been in years, with averages now exceeding 30 students and some classrooms reaching 36 or 37. She said textbooks and online learning tools are running short, and argued the district should seriously examine its spending priorities before approving a raise of this size.
Teacher Kate McDonald raised a separate concern about trust, saying it was an issue alongside the compensation question in the proposed early vote. McDonald told the station that each dollar the district spends expresses its beliefs and values — a line that captured much of the frustration teachers voiced at the meeting.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS said it asked the district whether the reported class sizes were accurate, whether any class-size reductions were planned, and for comment on the administrative compensation concerns. A district spokesperson said she could not provide that information on Wednesday, and the station said it will continue to press for answers.
District Points to Budget Cuts and Funding Pressures
St. Louis Park Public Schools has separately detailed its own budget strain. The district says on its website, per St. Louis Park School District 283, that announced changes are expected to save at least $500,000. A BrightWorks study compared 32 Twin Cities metro districts.
District spending includes staff salaries and benefits, as well as supplies and other miscellaneous purchases. The district has discussed the state funding formula, inflation, and declining enrollment in relation to its budget pressures. The district reports it receives 67% of its funding from the state, 29% from property taxes, 3% from federal sources, and 1% from local interest, fees, and gifts, and says its Financial Advisory Committee exists in part to build community trust in school finances.
Earlier Compensation Figures
Compensation figures tied to Hines have varied across different points in time and are not a direct apples-to-apples comparison. Search planning materials reviewed for the 2023 superintendent search listed St. Louis Park's then-superintendent compensation at $210,904 for the 2023-24 year, and estimated that running a search would cost the district between $18,900 and $25,900, according to documents posted on boardbook.org. A separate 2023 report on the hiring process said Hines would begin with a starting salary of $220,000.
