Faircloth gets $44K pay increase, contract extension as Lorain County JVS superintendent

PITTSFIELD TWP. — Glenn Faircloth is getting a $44,000 per year raise to continue as superintendent of the Lorain County JVS through 2028. The vocational school's Board of Education voted Thursday night to give him a five-year contract extension starting next summer. It will raise Faircloth's annual pay by 25 percent, from $130,000 to $174,213 per year plus fringe benefits. Board President Deborah Melda calculated the deal to be worth $211,000 per year. Anne Schaum, who represents Oberlin Schools on the JVS board, supported the contract extension and pay increase "for the sake of the students." She said Faircloth has greatly increased the number of graduates sent into the workforce each year with knowledge of the trades and technical fields. "He has managed a very complicated system quite effectively — and you're right, we pay top dollar for that," she said. Annie Carstarphen, who represents Elyria on the board, said Faircloth is "a household name" who is respected and admired by students who want to follow in his footsteps. "I feel that he's doing a wonderful job here at the JVS. I feel that he's doing a wonderful job in the community. People look up to him," she said. The board voted 11-1 to approve the new contract, which will go into effect Aug. 1, 2023. The lone detractor was Wellington Schools representative Ayers Ratliff, who over the years has pulled no punches when it comes to his opinion of Faircloth. He laid bare new criticisms Thursday about the superintendent's leadership, blaming Faircloth for everything from staff vacancies to what he perceives as a lack of curriculum development. Ratliff talked about a bullying incident that allegedly happened late last school year, in which a student wearing an animal tail accessory had it pulled from their uniform. He shared the same story earlier in the week in a Wellington Board of Education meeting. At neither time did Ratliff voice concern for the victim. Instead, he was angry that Faircloth allowed students to accessorize. "To spend that kind of money on uniforms and then add tails and ears, kids that want to wear them, is just beyond me," he told the Wellington school board in a report Tuesday. "I just can't get over it." Stephen Coleman, who represents Columbia on the JVS board, appeared stunned that Ratliff shared the story in Thursday's meeting, or that it would be used as a basis for determining Faircloth's pay. "How much do you think that he should make?" Coleman asked Ratliff. Ratliff made it clear he opposed the $44,000 increase. "How much is it worth to be superintendent of the Lorain County Joint Vocational School? There becomes a ceiling that you are going into that is not fair," he said at one point in the meeting. JVS Treasurer Cory Thompson said the raise was not negotiated with Faircloth, but instead is based on a formula that lays out scheduled administrator base and step salary increases. Those increases are negotiated with a group of administrators that does not include the superintendent but have historically also been given to the superintendent. After the meeting, Thompson said it is unlikely that instructors at the JVS will get a 25 percent cost of living increase, or even one that will keep up with inflation. In the past 12 months ending in June, inflation has pushed up consumer costs nationwide by 9.1 percent, the biggest jump in about four decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. An annual salary of $174,213 is far above what superintendents at other vocational schools in Northeast Ohio make, according to public records. EHOVE Career Center, which covers Erie and Huron counties, pays Superintendent Chris McCully $135,553 per year and has between 900 and 1,000 students in an average year. Medina County Career Center pays Superintendent Steven Chrisman $142,342 and caters to roughly 1,100 students. Polaris Career Center in Middleburg Heights did not respond to a request for similar information. However, filings with the state of Ohio show Superintendent Bob Timmons made $153,132 in 2019 — that school has nearly 12,000 students. This year, the Lorain County JVS will welcome its largest student body ever, with some 1,324 attending, according to Faircloth, who calmly responded to Ratliff's complaints. Since he became superintendent in 2012, the JVS has been through a lot of changes, he said. Enrollment has boomed and facilities have been slowly improving even though voters have on three occasions rejected levy requests for new money. "Our goal is to continue on that roller coaster to grow — not down, but up," Faircloth said. Rex Engle, who represents Amherst on the board, said Faircloth has brought stability to the JVS. He was "perfect for what we needed" when he was first hired and fixed "a curriculum nightmare," Engle said. "We have to look at what we've accomplished," he said. "Can we accomplish more? Certainly." With the new contract in hand, Faircloth has already started looking at a vision for the JVS for the next decade. He plans to make a pitch at the board's August meeting to hire a construction management and engineering firm to handle a long list of repairs and upgrades to the building. Upgrades include new flooring, a sprinkler system, fire alarm, parking lot paving, lighting, a new air handler, roofing, lab equipment, an overhaul of the culinary program's kitchen and other expenditures. The estimate sits at roughly $41.2 million. That's before factoring in the cost of inflation, said JVS Director of Communications Heidi Clevinger. "This is a large number. We're looking at a 10-year commitment on that," Faircloth told the board. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.