NORTH PROVIDENCE — A teacher at North Providence High School emerged as the School Department’s second-highest-paid employee for the 2006 calendar year, outdistancing all the other teachers and administrators except for the school superintendent, a review of town financial records shows.

Charlene J. Centracchio’s gross salary of $104,577 was exceeded only by that of Supt. Donna Ottaviano, who received $111,197 for the year. Coming in third was high school Principal Joseph Goho, at $102,481.

Ottaviano said Centracchio had a base salary of $78,042, more than many other teachers in the school system because, as a guidance counselor, she was required to work 10 days more than the 185 days worked by regular teachers, who spend 180 days in the classroom and 5 days in professional development.

In addition to her base pay, Centracchio received a professional development stipend of $180. She also received $1,936 for her work as sophomore class adviser, $1,859 for her work with the booster club, and $22,560 for tutoring students needing special assistance beyond the regular school day.

The superintendent noted that state law requires school districts to provide at home tutoring for students in the system who are unable to attend regular classes because of serious illness or disability or other legal or health-related problems.

When a student is out of school for more than a brief period, the district must provide instruction for the student for each subject, typically one hour per week per subject by a teacher who has been certified for that grade level and that subject. Tutoring usually takes places in late afternoons or evening, and teachers are currently compensated $40 per hour. That means Centracchio would have had to put in more than 560 hours over the year in extra tutoring.

Ottaviano’s salary of $106,197 was supplemented by a $1,000 payment to cover travel, and a $4,000 buyback payment for passing up participation in the medical insurance program administered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield.

Goho, the third on the list, drew most of his gross for his work as principal, with a base pay of $98,540, supplemented by a $2,500 payment for work as the School Improvement Team coordinator, and $1,440 for professional development.

Darlene V. Chabot and Christine M. Creamer, third grade teachers at the Marieville Elementary School, were fourth and fifth on the list, with gross pays of $102,100 and $97,363, respectively. Chabot’s base salary of $71,459 was supplemented by a payment of $400 for professional development and $30,240 for having more than 15 students in her class at the end of both semesters over and above the 20 student limit set by the teacher contract.

Ottaviano noted that the teacher contract calls for no more than 20 students per class in kindergarten through third grade, and 25 students for grade 4 and up. If the limit is exceeded, the teacher receives a payment of $2,000 for each student over the limit, provided that the student is enrolled in the class at the end of both school semesters, in January and June.

As it happened, according to Ottaviano, Marieville Elementary School had an unusually large number of third graders two years ago, contributing to the overages for both Chabot and Creamer.

Creamer’s base bay of $67,374 was supplemented by a $4,000 medical insurance buyback, and $25,989 for having 13 students more than the contracted limit of 20.

The next highest-paid employees in the school system were high school teacher Nancy J. Iafrate, with a gross pay of $96,164 and Kenneth A. Ferrara, principal at the Birchwood Middle School, with gross pay of $95,735.

Iafrate, who teachers English at the high school, had a base salary of $80,861, which was supplemented by a $4,000 medical insurance buyback, $1,975 for working as junior class adviser and $10,328 for having five students above the contracted 25-student limit.

Birchwood’s principal, Ferrara, had a base pay of $94,039, supplemented by a $1,375 medical insurance buyback payment and a $320 stipend for professional development.

John T. Kelly, a teacher at the high school, also works an additional 10 days beyond the regular year as guidance counselor, so his base pay was higher than most teachers, $83,213. In addition, he received $1,201 from a government grant to tutor students who needed to be tutored beyond the regular year, $180 for professional development, $4,082 for his work as a school detention officer and $4,000 for forgoing medical insurance. His overall pay: $92,675.

The ninth-highest paid employee was Assistant School Supt. Robert J. Gerardi Jr., with total pay of $92,421. That included a base salary of $90,446, travel pay of $600, and $1,375 for buying back his medical insurance.

Anthony J. Vacca, a teacher at the McGuire Elementary School, was the district’s 10th-highest paid employee, with a gross salary of $91,357.

Vacca had a base salary of $75,377 but that was supplemented by a $10,960 payment for tutoring students out of school, $3,260 for teaching a summer math clinic, $60 for professional development, and $1,700 for work as yearbook adviser.

The 2006 compensations were the latest available when the Journal began its review.

rdujardi@projo.com