More questions on salary raises

To the Editor: According to Ralph Cashell’s letter to the editor, it is his understanding that Dr. Monks received two salary increases in the past nine months for her “miraculous ability” to raise test scores. 1. Dr. Morton reported giving one raise to Dr. Monks. Now we are finding out that there were two increases given to Dr. Monks in nine months. Is this true? 2. Why would any administrator get two salary increases in such a short time, and what were the specifics of the increases in Dr. Monks’ salary? 3. I understand that Dr. Monks started her duties in January 2005, not in December 2004 as stated in the Nov. 10 Sparta Independent article. 4. Since Dr. Morton justifies Dr. Monks’ salary increases based on the rise of the standardized test scores, I would like to know exactly when those standardized tests were given. If, as was written in previous letters, these tests were administered within two to three months of Dr. Monks starting in the district, then a top educator such as Dr. Morton should know that no one individual could perform such miracles in that short a time. 5. In the Jennifer Dericks, Jim and Sharon McCormack, Manny Goldberg letter to the editor, they say that Sparta is “third from the bottom in per pupil spending” and that we have a “great shortfall in dollars” since money seems to be flowing to areas that do not directly benefit students. We, the public, deserve a response from the administration and board of education about these issues. This response should be presented at the next board meeting or in this publication. Bob LaFlamme Sparta