Baldwin-Whitehall Superintendent Randal Lutz gets new 5-year deal early

Baldwin-Whitehall School District Superintendent Randal Lutz has been given a new five-year contract.

The school board recently unanimously approved a new five-year deal with Lutz even though there are two years remaining on his current contract.

District business manager Mark Cherpak said Lutz’s current contract runs from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2022, with salaries starting at about $159,500 with 3% annual increases.

The new deal is effective Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2026, with a salary of about $179,600 with 3% annual raises.

The district has about 4,400 students.

“Dr. Lutz’s extraordinary leadership during his tenure, and most assuredly in this uncertain time, warranted this action,” said board president Anthony DiCesaro. “I am certain that this was the best decision for the students, administration, and staff of the district.”

Board member Robert Achtzehn noted Lutz’s leadership during the pandemic among the reasons a new contract was warranted.

“We always knew that we had a great superintendent in Dr. Lutz, but since the onset of the pandemic, he has worked tirelessly and demonstrated an unsurpassed level of leadership at the local, regional and state levels,” Achtzehn said. “The author James Lane Allen once said, ‘Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.’

“Dr. Lutz’s high level of character has been revealed to us over and over again throughout this crisis and we knew it was in the best interest of the district to keep him as our leader for the foreseeable future.”

Lutz, a Baldwin native and Baldwin High School graduate, has worked for the district for more than 24 years. He’s been superintendent since 2012.

He worked as an assistant principal, director of elementary education and assistant superintendent before becoming the face of central administration.

Lutz thanked the board for its continuous support and gave credit to other district workers.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to envision the future with our amazingly dedicated team of administrators, our teachers, and staff, our caring and committed parents and families, and our students whose talent, creativity, and compassion never fails to inspire me,” Lutz said. “Year after year, our community has a role to play in which we lift one another up — making it possible to both see and dare to achieve new heights together.”