Region 18 School Board Approves New Three-Year Superintendent of Schools Contract With Added Pension, Retirement Benefits

LYME/OLD LYME, CT – The Region 18 Board of Education has approved a new three-year contract for Superintendent of Schools Ian Neviaser with new pension and retirement benefits. 

The contract, signed last month, replaces the previous agreement dated July 2025 through June 2028. State law caps superintendent contracts in Connecticut at three years. 

Neviaser’s salary for the 2026-27 school year comes in at $261,249, plus a $27,728 tax-sheltered annuity contribution. That salary was set in the previous contract, up roughly 2.5% from his 2025-26 salary of $254,877, with a $27,051 annuity. 

Salaries for the final two years of the new agreement will be negotiated around May 2027, according to the contract.

The new contract includes a phased-in pension contribution supplement and retirement health insurance provisions not included in the previous agreement. 

School Board Chairman Jason Kemp in an email this week said information presented to the school board showed most superintendents in the area receive the two benefits, with the Old Saybrook school district adding the pension contribution reimbursement last year. 

Connecticut law requires teachers and administrators enrolled in the Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board pension system to contribute 8.25% of their annual salary — 7% toward their pension and 1.25% toward a retiree health insurance fund — through payroll deduction. 

Under the new contract, the district will begin covering the required contribution over three years: 33% in 2026-27, 66% in 2027-28 and 100% in 2028-29 and any extension. By the final year, the district will be paying his entire mandatory pension contribution rather than deducting it from his pay. 

The payments will also be reported as salary, which increases his pensionable earnings. 

Kemp said costs related to the pension payment over three years are difficult to project because the contract is reviewed annually with an option to adjust, renew or terminate after each performance review. 

Based on current figures, he estimated the supplement would cost the district about $25,000 in the 2028-29 year.

The contract also states the school board will continue to provide medical and dental coverage for Neviaser and his eligible dependents for up to five years between retirement and becoming eligible for Medicare. 

Kemp said Neviaser will be eligible to retire at age 60. 

The contract stipulates Neviaser will be afforded the same premium and deductible levels as administrators during the same time period. 

Neviaser was hired in 2012 to succeed Betty Osga as the Region 18 superintendent. He previously served as assistant superintendent in Region 4, which spans Essex, Chester and Deep River. Neviaser holds degrees from Wesleyan University and Southern Connecticut State University, and began his teaching career in New Haven in 1997. 

Kemp said Neviaser has had a positive impact on the district and has proven to be receptive to feedback. 

“Superintendents are in high demand and I would personally hope to keep him here,” he said. 

All other terms of the contract, including an $8,000 annual longevity stipend, a $6,000 car stipend, vacation, sick and personal leave allowances and performance evaluation procedures, remain unchanged from the prior agreement.

The board discussed the contract in executive session and approved it in a public vote on June 3.