St. Paul school board OKs contract with new superintendent

The St. Paul school board unanimously approved a three-year contract with new superintendent Joe Gothard Tuesday night. The contract includes a $232,000 salary, slightly more than previous superintendent Valeria Silva's base salary of $213,026.

"This is an exciting moment to begin moving our district forward," board chair Jon Schumacher said.

The contract is expected to be signed later in the week, and the full document will be public then.

Gothard will face some challenges in his new role, including a projected $27 million budget gap for next year. Recent enrollment projections for St. Paul also came in lower than expected, with losses forecast over the next ten years.

The St. Paul board expects to approve its 2017-18 budget in June.

Gothard currently is the superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district. His contract in St. Paul starts July 1.

Gothard said in a statement that he looks forward "to getting to know the St. Paul community and bringing great excitement to our staff and schools in service of our great students."