For 2 educators, long days, different worries

A lack of money for schools doesn't keep Lawrence Superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy up at night. It's the nagging worry that some students in his urban school district still aren't grasping basic math and reading.

MCAS scores don't keep Lexington Superintendent Paul B. Ash up at night. It's the worry that his suburban district won't have enough money for its high-achieving schools and that programs and positions will be cut.

Laboy and Ash have the same title in their respective school districts, typically work 14 hours a day, and are two of the most highly paid school chiefs in the state. Yet, their different worries highlight the variant stresses that come with superintendent jobs in contrasting settings.

Laboy's Lawrence is a largely working-class, majority Latino city where the median family income is about $29,000 . A city that educated the young poet Robert Frost, Lawrence today has no major retail bookstore. Many families are originally from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and a large percentage of adult residents struggle with basic English literacy.

Laboy said he's in Lawrence because that's where he's needed. His work is a calling, not just another job, said Laboy, 55, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn. A product of New York public schools and a son of a nightclub singer, Laboy looks at Lawrence students and sees himself.

Ash's Lexington, on the other hand, is a mainly white, upper-middle-class suburban town where the median family income is around $112,000 . It is a place where most adult residents have earned at least a bachelor's degree and move to town, in large measure, for the good schools. The town boasts a bookstore downtown and two busy Starbucks outlets just minutes from each other.

Ash said parents in his school district are highly educated, demanding, and outspoken. "If there are six people, they'll have 15 opinions," said Ash, 56, a graduate of Needham schools who comes from a family of doctors.

According to a Globe analysis of 162 superintendent contracts in eastern Massachusetts, Laboy is due this year to receive a total of $209,366 from the district. His base salary is $189,397 . He gets $1,705 in insurance benefits, and the annual value for use of a Chevrolet Blazer and related costs are $6,264 . He also has $12,000 in a tax-sheltered annuity.

Ash will receive a total of $194,250 from Lexington Public Schools. His base salary is $180,250 and insurance benefits are $7,000 . He gets $7,000 in a tax-sheltered annuity.

If either man left his position tomorrow, according to statewide trends, his successor probably would earn even more.

The demands of being a superintendent and a shrinking pool of educators with the qualifications and desire to do the job have driven up the costs of hiring and keeping a successful school district chief executive.

Spend time with either Laboy or Ash and it's clear their days are full with the business and the art of education and the need to connect with parents, teacher, and students.

Laboy, who is in his seventh year as superintendent, pays surprise visits to schools where he and a team of administrators walk into classrooms to make sure "learning is going on." During a recent tour of the Bruce School, Laboy popped in on reading and math classes, then gave principal William Sullivan a quick assessment.

When Laboy is not visiting schools, he's working with contractors on the new high school one minute and talking to campus police the next. Skipping a lot of meals is usually the price.

"I don't know he does it. He's always busy," said Sullivan. "I wouldn't want his job."

Ash also visits schools and talks to teachers. Still, a large portion of his job is playing communicator with residents. At times, he can open his e-mail box and find thousands of messages.

During budget time, Ash locks himself in his office to crunch numbers with his staff. Each year, it seems the state isn't providing enough money to fund existing programs. It was the same story when he was school chief in Westwood.

Budget problems, said Ash, highlight an inequality that still exists, even in his community.

"Lexington is still going to do well because we have parents who are well-educated and they will do everything to make sure their kids succeed," said Ash. "But not all 6,200."

To fight for money, Ash makes his case on the local public access channel and attends countless community meetings.

The downside of all of this? His wife rarely sees him.

"Luckily, my daughter is in law school," he said. "This is not a job for someone who has a young family."

Mary Ellen Alessandro , copresident of the Lexington Preschool PTA and a mother or two boys, said Ash "is doing a great job" since becoming superintendent two years ago. "He's quite accommodating. He's flexible and very responsive" to parents, said Alessandro.

Laboy acknowledges that, because of his full schedule, sometimes his wife hardly sees him. "It's an ongoing concern," he said.

His biggest fear? Losing a child in the schools to violence or an accident. "Death means all hope is lost," Laboy said.

Ash's biggest fear is the unexpected. Last year, a conservative group accused school officials and other adults of inciting a student fight over the legalization of gay marriage. A blogger posted Ash's phone numbers and e-mail address, drawing angry messages from around the country, even a death threat. Ash was asked to speak on ABC and Fox news shows. According to Ash, the blogger's story was false. And the episode took away from his job of educating kids. "We were used as pawns," said Ash.

Laboy is sometimes asked to speak at conferences on urban education and is the outgoing president of the national Association of Latino Administrators & Superintendents. But none of that attention ever erases the doubt that he is doing enough.

To combat that doubt, Laboy reaches for his faith. An evangelical Christian , Laboy has a dog-eared bible on his desk. Every morning, he prays and meditates. One of his favorite lines of Scripture comes from Proverbs 21:6 : "Teach a child in the way he should go, and he shall not part from it."

Ash said keeping busy keeps him strong. He doesn't see himself leaving until his body "can't take it anymore."

But in a community that has seen a high turnover of superintendents, Ash knows there might come a time when a superintendent is no longer wanted. He hopes that's not any time soon in Lexington.

"I like what I do," he said. "I'm dreading the day when I retire."

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.