By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools was rated "effective" on his first-year evaluation and received a $6,800 raise from the school board Monday.

Alton Frailey's raise amounts to 3.75 percent of his $181,000 salary.

The raise comes less than a week after the district was rated in "academic emergency" on the state report card - the worst of the state's five rankings on student achievement.

But the board vice-president said student achievement didn't weigh greatly in Frailey's evaluation, even though the district placed a heavy emphasis on trying to improve academic results.

That was in part because Frailey came on board more than two months into last school year, said Vice-President Florence Newell.

"He wasn't in a position to make any drastic changes," Newell said.

The board evaluated the superintendent on some of the following goals:

• Increasing the quality of communication in the district and the community.

• Setting district standards and aligning the district's curriculum and assessments to state and federal standards.

• Ensuring equity throughout the district by refining school budgeting and helping to pass and implement the $1 billion school rebuilding project.

• Focusing on developing a shared vision so all students can achieve.

"The board is pleased with the direction of the district and Superintendent Frailey's leadership," Board President Sally Warner wrote in a statement on behalf of the board.

"The board commends Superintendent Frailey for quickly establishing positive working relationships with employees and the community. He is commended for increasing public support and confidence in Cincinnati Public Schools that resulted in the recent passage of the bond issue to improve school facilities throughout the community."

Newell said the board will put more weight on student achievement as part of Frailey's evaluation in the coming year.

Other goals include implementing the school facilities project in a timely and cost-effective way and facilitating the development of a new strategic plan that outlines the vision and goals of the whole district.

Frailey's raise is far short of former Superintendent Steven Adamowski's last raise. In 2001, Adamowski received a $45,000 raise - a 33 percent increase. The board then said the raise was necessary to bring the position in line with the pay of other superintendents.

Adamowski's base salary increased from $136,200 to $181,282.

Before that, Adamowski's base salary had not increased since he came to the district in 1998. Instead of annual raises, he was eligible for up to 10 percent of his base salary in merit bonuses. At least once, he declined a merit raise.

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E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com