I was all set to praise the District 150 school board for being open-minded about the two-school option in the East Bluff/North Valley area, and reconsidering their plans to remodel the district offices… and then I read this:
District 150’s newly named deputy superintendents will receive temporary pay raises until Superintendent Ken Hinton recovers from back surgery and returns to work.
The School Board approved 15 percent raises for deputy superintendents Cindy Fischer and Herschel Hannah. Their pay will return to normal when Hinton comes back.
What is the matter with these people? Let’s review. Royster is fired. Board wants Hinton to replace her, but Hinton doesn’t have certification to be a superintendent. They hire him anyway (as “deputy” superintendent) and hire Fischer and Hannah as co-interim superintendents. Then Hinton gets his certification and becomes Superintendent.
Then the board decides to keep Fischer and Hannah on anyway, even though these positions are unnecessary now because the Superintendent position is filled. They call them “Associate Superintendents” and gave them a huge pay increase just a few months ago.
Now that Hinton is out on medical leave, they give them both another huge pay increase (albeit “temporary”) while he’s out of the office. These two superfluous positions already pay over $114,000 a year before the increase. Fifteen percent of that is over $17,000 (annually).
I can find no other school district the size of District 150 that has as many superintendents as District 150. This is the district that is always complaining about not having money, using the Chamber of Commerce to get donations to keep the truancy center open, considering outsourcing the lunch ladies, negotiating low or no raises for teachers, etc., etc. Yet they can spend gobs of money on superfluous administrative positions and give them mammoth raises without batting an eye.
Priorities?
No where that I have worked gave temporoary raises for stepping up to the plate for an out of commission supervisor. I have been in that postition twice with different employers. Is this common in school districts or other industries? I always just thought it was an oppertunity to prove how you can be responsible for more things and be a team player. Then again I don’t work for the government.
It shows the need to elect responsible people to the School board, not persons put in because of their place in town. It’s too late for that now, but these raises can be terminated by the Board, they are not in concrete. If either of these persons become our permanent Spt., it will be a sham on the taxpayers and students.
Thank you for your insightful reporting, CJ. I, for one, am disgusted by the wasteful “largess” of District 150.
My boss was out from work for months. The only raise the assistant managers received was the number of hours we had to work. I guess it is easy to recklessly spend money when it isn’t yours. Since Hinton was out, take it out of his paycheck.
It proves my point that closing schools and cutting front line people rarely saves money. They just use the money to create more overpaid administrative positions. Take heed districts that are the victim of consolidation threats.
FYI, the 15% is on a per diem bases, suppoedly only when one of them performs a duty outside their normal duties, ie. only something Hinton would normally do.
Also, kudos to board member Parker who moved to seperate the issues of promoting and salary increase. She is the only no vote for the pay increase.
More on school board meeting on my site later tonight…
Thanks, Brad! Looking forward to your report.
C.J.
One thing you can say about Peoria is that whispers stay underground and out of the press. Isn’t it funny that Hinton’s “back” problems were not that bad that he could continue to draw his ludicrous salary since July until now? Most people heal after their operations. This whole story sounds CRAZY to me! ^oo^~
NOW WHAT IS THE REAL STORY ABOUT HINTON?