Minneapolis school superintendent earns $12,184 bonus

The Minneapolis school board awarded Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson a $12,184 performance bonus Tuesday as part of her annual job evaluation.

The school board settled on the amount during a closed-door meeting Thursday.

Johnson was eligible for up to $30,000 in bonus pay on top of her $190,000 salary.

The evaluation covered Johnson's first year on the job. She is in the midst of her second year leading the 33,000-student district, the state's third-largest.

"The board feels that Superintendent Johnson has met expectations and has confidence that she will continue to work hard to create a strong educational system in Minneapolis," school board chairwoman Jill Davis said in a prepared statement.

Before she signed a contract to take the job in spring 2010, Johnson wanted clear-cut standards to work toward.

The performance incentives focused on turning around low-performing schools, better preparing graduates for college and deepening partnerships with parents, residents and community organizations.

Johnson plans to donate an unspecified amount of the bonus to support AchieveMpls and endow a teaching scholarship in the names of her grandmother and late mother, who were educators.

"I've learned a lot in my first year," Johnson said. "It's been a year of growth."

New board member picked

Kim Ellison is the newest Minneapolis school board member. She will replace Lydia Lee, who will resign effective at year's end.

Ellison, an executive assistant at Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties, will be sworn in during the board's Jan. 10 meeting.

The board selected Ellison from among five finalists using a secret ballot, ranked voting system. She beat out Peggy Clark, David Joseph DeGrio, Brooke Magid Hart and former board member Theartrice "T" Williams.

Under state law, Lee was prohibited from voting on her successor.