School board approves $10K stipend for Volz

Published 9:54 am Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Albert Lea Deputy superintendent also to receive retirement funds

Albert Lea Deputy Superintendent Lori Volz opted to stay in Albert Lea earlier this month. On Monday night, the Albert Lea School Board voted to add a stipend and money to her retirement annuity.

The measure passed on a 4-2 vote. Board members Mark Ciota, Linda Laurie, Bill Leland, Dave Klatt and Linda Laurie voted yes. Julie Johnson and Jill Marin voted no.

Lori Volz

Lori Volz

Approval means Volz will receive a $10,000 annual stipend in addition to her $139,437 yearly salary for her work in Albert Lea’s collaboration with the Austin Public School District on a cooperative school to assist severe special-education students. She was also granted a $10,000 annual contribution to the retirement annuity of her choice.

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Volz thanked the board and the community for their support of her.

“I am very thankful for the approval of my salary package, which includes the stipend for the assignment of overseeing the finances for the Austin Albert Lea Special Ed Cooperative,” she said. “The community support over the last month has been tremendous, and I am very touched by the appreciation of my financial expertise in the field of school finance.”

Prior to the vote, Superintendent Mike Funk discussed the positive contributions Volz has made, such as her role in the district receiving $1.1 million in statewide competitive grants by helping administrators Mary Jo Dorman and Jennifer Hanson submit a quality funding request.

“If we did not have Lori in this capacity, those dollars, which are competitive, would be at risk in the future,” Funk said.

Volz decided earlier this month not to accept a position with Mankato Area Public Schools as director of business services after she announced last month that she had accepted the position. Community leaders and school staff met earlier this month at Alliance Benefit Group to think of ways to get her to stay, and community members and school staff urged her to stay at the Nov. 7 board meeting.

Marin said she calculated the stipend and the retirement contribution to be a nearly 18 percent increase.

Johnson said though there is support for Volz in the community, she did not think they would approve of that large of a raise.

“Lori saw the level of support we had for her, but from a taxpayer’s perspective I think we would be hard-pressed to find a lot of taxpayers who would be supportive of a $20,000 increase per year,” she said. “I think that’s excessive, and the taxpayers would not be supportive of that.”

Leland said he did not think the increase was excessive because of the money Volz has saved the district and the taxpayers.

Funk said he was pleased with the board’s approval of Volz’s financial package.

“Lori Volz is the best finance director in the state of Minnesota,” he said. “She has saved the district millions of dollars, and I think the board has stepped up and demonstrated their commitment to Lori Volz through their approval of her financial package tonight.”

Look to Wednesday’s Tribune for more news from Monday’s meeting.

About Sam Wilmes

Sam Wilmes covers crime, courts and government for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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