The Portage School Board approved a new three-year contract Monday for Superintendent Amanda Alaniz but acknowledged her pay is below what it should be. “We compared that contract with other districts’ superintendents and what we found in that comparison is that Portage Township School Corp., while being the fourth largest district out of the 23, 24 districts in Northwest Indiana, our superintendent ranked 12th in pay,” board President Andy Maletta said. “In the Duneland Conference, where there’s eight districts, we have the third largest school district and our superintendent ranked seventh out of eighth in pay,” he said. “The average pay for superintendents in the state of Indiana with districts with students 6,000 or more is $207,872, so we were quite under all of those.” Even with the new contract, Alaniz’s new salary will be $182,000. “Now we understand, much like with some of the other employee groups, we can’t be as high as some of those others, but we do need to remain competitive,” Maletta said. With the new contract, Portage will rank ninth out of the 24 districts in pay and fifth out of eight in the Duneland Conference. The contract includes the usual benefits along with a $500,000 life insurance policy, $424 a month for a car stipend, a $10,000 annual salary stipend and a $100 monthly technology stipend. The average tenure for a school superintendent is only five years, board Vice President Wilma Vazquez said, so it’s important to offer a competitive pay package. During a Nov. 19 executive session, the board gave Alaniz the highest rating for her job performance. “Longevity has a positive effect on student achievement through creating their conducive environment for learning and teaching,” Vazquez said. Superintendents who are involved in developing instructional goals; fostering open communication; and providing professional development resources, funding and collaboration are important in promoting student achievement. “I can see that that is what is happening here in our district,” she said. “We’re proud of our superintendent, and we want to make sure that she stays with us.” The board voted unanimously for Alaniz’s new contract as well as 3.5% raises for other school administrators who work 260 days a year or more. The same study that showed Portage’s superintendent is underpaid showed similar results for the associate superintendent, principals and other administrators. Maletta said the board is committed to addressing those salaries without asking taxpayers to pass a referendum to provide additional money for doing so. Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.