Norwin superintendent, asst. superintendent take retirement incentives

Norwin’s superintendent and one of its assistant superintendents will get incentives to retire one year early, under deals the Norwin School Board approved Monday.

Superintendent William Kerr will receive an early retirement incentive of $56,353, while Timothy Kotch Sr., assistant superintendent for secondary education, will receive benefits equal to $76,871. Both will retire by June 30, the end of the school’s fiscal year.

Kerr announced in November that he would retire as of June 30, pending approval of an early retirement package that the school board said in September it would offer administrators and central office personnel. The deadline for taking the early retirement offer was Jan. 1.

By retiring a year before his current contract expires, Kerr would be foregoing his contracted salary of about $175,000 for the 2019-2020 school year, plus benefits, both of which would total $280,181.

As part of the arrangement, Kerr will volunteer his services as an education consultant for transitional purposes as needed, through Nov. 30, without any pay.

Kerr, who has been a school superintendent for 25 years, has worked in education for 42 years.

Kotch, who has been assistant superintendent for secondary education since the 2015-2016 school year, was to receive about $159,300 in salary for the 2019-2020 school year. His benefits for the upcoming school year would be worth about $76,871, he said.

Kotch said his retirement incentive includes payment for sick days worth $22,000, vacation time and 26 months of health care coverage. He had worked in Norwin for about 23 years, serving as the high school principal and as a teacher.

During Kerr and Kotch’s tenures, they consistently received distinguished annual performance evaluation ratings.

The school board has not yet decided how it would realign the administration with Kotch’s pending retirement, said Barb Viola, board president. The board has not decided if it will replace Kotch with another assistant superintendent for secondary education, Viola said.

The board also has not decided whether to offer an early retirement incentive to the teaching staff.

Norwin is facing a potential $1 million budget deficit for the upcoming school year, even if it raises real estate taxes by 2.4 mills, the maximum the state will allow Norwin to increase property taxes.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.