RACINE - Jack Parker will continue working as the Racine Unified School District's interim superintendent through September, according to Unified School Board President Tony Baumgardt.

Both Parker and Baumgardt agreed to an arrangement that would keep Parker on the job until Sept. 30, Baumgardt said Friday. Parker's original contract with the district expires Monday.

The board hired Parker last year to replace former superintendent Tom Hicks, who left the district in August 2007.

The School Board will vote on extending Parker's contract at its next business meeting July 21, Baumgardt said.

"The board did not object to Jack staying on. The question was how long and under what terms," Baumgardt said.

After Sept. 30, the district could contract with Parker on a monthly basis as the board searches for a new superintendent.

The terms of Parker's contract have yet to be negotiated, Baumgardt said.

The district agreed to pay Parker, a former Unified teacher and administrator, $144,000 in salary when he originally stepped in as interim superintendent after Hicks resigned following a report that questioned his negotiations with the Public Business Consulting Group, a private firm that managed the district's business office.

The contract the board negotiated with Parker at the time resembled Hicks' contract with Unified, which will expire Monday, too.

Parker's contract includes monthly cell phone and car allowances, as well as a monthly $1,250 contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan.

It remains to be seen whether the board will agree to a bump in pay for Parker, who turned 70 in January. He would certainly deserve it, considering the amount of work he has put in during the past several months, according to Baumgardt.

"I just admire jack and his commitment to the community. He is 100 percent here for us

He's worked very hard for us," Baumgardt said.