School communications director hired at $100K resigns

The Allentown School District’s communications director, whose $100,000 salary sparked concerns about whether the cash-strapped district could afford that money, has resigned after nine months on the job.

The school board is expected to accept the resignation of Communications Director Julie Benjamin at Thursday’s meeting, according to the agenda listed online. Superintendent Thomas Parker said the position is not being eliminated, but is not being immediately filled so the district can look at priorities.

Benjamin was one of two employees handling the district’s communications. The board hired Melissa Reese as communications manager in 2017 and her salary has since been bumped to $67,584. Reese will now be the sole person responsible for communications.

The communications department is in charge of running social media and handling media requests.

Benjamin’s salary was questioned by School Director Robert E. Smith when she was hired in January. Smith was the only board member to vote against her position, saying the $100,000 salary was “excessive.”

Benjamin did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Smith said he had nothing against Benjamin personally but still believes Allentown doesn’t have the money for a communications director.

In June, the Allentown School Board passed a $341.8 million budget that was balanced only if 23 charter schools each agreed to a 10% tuition reduction, which would result in the district saving $6 million.

But charter schools have not agreed to the tuition cut. Last month, they jointly sent a letter to the district telling it to “live within its means.”

That means Allentown still has a hole in its 2019-20 budget that needs to be filled, which is why Smith believes the communications director position is not a priority.

“When you’re $6 million in the red, you look wherever you can to save money,” Smith said. “We do not have money for luxury positions, and that is a luxury we can do without.”

Allentown said in January it was investing in a two-person communications team because families had identified communication as being a problem with the district.

Allentown, the region’s largest district with 17,000 students, is not the only district to have communications positions. The Parkland School District pays $93,325 for its community relations and development director position. East Penn pays $66,159 for its community liaison who handles media requests.

Bethlehem Area, the Lehigh Valley’s second largest district, does not have a communications position, but the district contracts with George Wacker of Lehigh Valley with Love Media at a cost of $24,000 a year. Wacker handles the district’s social media accounts.