School Superintendent with $660k salary has angry parents feeling poor

[aGameOfThrones]

The superintendent of the Centinela Valley School District was under fire Tuesday for what residents called his exorbitant pay and perks. Carolyn Costello reports from Lawndale for the KTLA 5 News at 10 on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014.


You should watch the video!!! The board gave him a $900k loan at 2% to buy a house after he emerge from bankruptcy.


Video: http://news.yahoo.com/video/school-superintendent-under-fire-exhorbitant-064047879.html

[asurfaholic]

There should be no public sector job that pays more than the median income for the district it serves. Anything other than that is robbery.

[kathy88]

There should be no public sector job that pays more than the median income for the district it serves. Anything other than that is robbery.

THAT is a great point.

[Spikender]

There is no reason that man should be paid that much.

And people wonder why our education system stinks with all the money our local, state, and federal government throws at it...

Corrupt, plain and simple, as always.

[Tod]

There should be no public sector job that pays more than the median income for the district it serves. Anything other than that is robbery.

I think a pretty good case could be made that no matter how much it pays, robbery is involved (unless maybe all of the taxpayers involved agree and willingly support the salary and would pay it even if it were voluntary).

[satchelmcqueen]

this is something that needs to be pushed everywhere. i love that idea. ron paul ran on this last election for his presidential salary of 39k. he used the same reason.
There should be no public sector job that pays more than the median income for the district it serves. Anything other than that is robbery.

[angelatc]

There should be no public sector job that pays more than the median income for the district it serves. Anything other than that is robbery.

I agree with you in spirit, but in practice that would mean the head of the Detroit School System would probably qualify for food stamps.

Not that the sitting head of the system deserves to be there at all, but if the salary was so low, how would they ever attract talent into that job?

[Root]

I agree with you in spirit, but in practice that would mean the head of the Detroit School System would probably qualify for food stamps.

Not that the sitting head of the system deserves to be there at all, but if the salary was so low, how would they ever attract talent into that job?
That job shouldn't exist.

[angelatc]

That job shouldn't exist.

Thats one of the areas where I disagree with Libertarians. So, assuming the job should exist and pointing out that it is going to exist...the median income in Detroit is $26,000. The school system has 52,000 kids in 100 schools. How will you attract someone with the skill set to manage and improve academic performance if you only pay them $26,000 a year?

[eduardo89]

Thats one of the areas where I disagree with Libertarians. So, assuming the job should exist and pointing out that it is going to exist...the median income in Detroit is $26,000. The school system has 52,000 kids in 100 schools. How will you attract someone with the skill set to manage and improve academic performance if you only pay them $26,000 a year?

I agree. It doesn't make much sense, no qualified person would apply for that job at that salary.

[angelatc]

I agree. It doesn't make much sense, no qualified person would apply for that job at that salary.

Well, our beloved Republicans would like to see the individual school boards disbanded and turned into a function of the counties, with a new school board consisting of a representative from each county in a system that the state administers.

That an even worse idea.

The best solution is to probably allow each community to handle it locally, rather than to come up with some one-size-fits-all scheme, even if that means that occasionally some town is going to get it horribly, terribly wrong.

[mello]

I don't think any public sector job should pay more than what the president is getting.

[Cleaner44]

Thats one of the areas where I disagree with Libertarians. So, assuming the job should exist and pointing out that it is going to exist...the median income in Detroit is $26,000. The school system has 52,000 kids in 100 schools. How will you attract someone with the skill set to manage and improve academic performance if you only pay them $26,000 a year?

If the incomes of the paxpayers are so low, how do you propose they raise the funds to pay their public employees more than they themselves make?

[unknown]

Someone remind them that all this "free" money comes from my incredibly high property taxes...

[Eagles' Wings]

Counting down the days when we'll be out of this system forever. Take as many sick days as possible.

[oyarde]

I agree. It doesn't make much sense, no qualified person would apply for that job at that salary.
Sure you can , just find someone in 60's who is retired and drawing income from elsewhere . This is public service .

[Eagles' Wings]

@oyarde -

this is completely off topic

I thought of you the other day when stopping by a small farm to buy eggs. A bunch of guys and gals were in the kitchen playing cards, having a bite to eat, puppy barking and playing, and I just wanted to stay.

[oyarde]

@oyarde -

this is completely off topic

I thought of you the other day when stopping by a small farm to buy eggs. A bunch of guys and gals were in the kitchen playing cards, having a bite to eat, puppy barking and playing, and I just wanted to stay.
LOL , I am taking some eggs to town this coming Fri to sell.I do not play cards much , but there is usually something good to eat in our kitchen. I grew up on a farm , I will never go back to living in a city , they probably would not let me free range animals in the yard there :)

[jbauer]

The super intendant when I went to school was making $300kish and had made a part time job for his wife in the $200ish neighborhood. These guys are scum.

[aGameOfThrones]

I agree with you in spirit, but in practice that would mean the head of the Detroit School System would probably qualify for food stamps.

Not that the sitting head of the system deserves to be there at all, but if the salary was so low, how would they ever attract talent into that job?

Public good? Public sacrifice? Public service? You do it for your community, for the children, for the poor, for country. Fuck it, you do it for this....


http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/images/Money%20Bed%20GIF.gif


I think public service is suppose to be a sacrifice not a road to riches. How much dose the NH legislature get paid?

[Eagles' Wings]

LOL , I am taking some eggs to town this coming Fri to sell.I do not play cards much , but there is usually something good to eat in our kitchen. I grew up on a farm , I will never go back to living in a city , they probably would not let me free range animals in the yard there :)Good for you. What's the price on your eggs? I paid $3.00/dozen and would pay more. It's still a bargain for an almost perfect food.

[oyarde]

Good for you. What's the price on your eggs? I paid $3.00/dozen and would pay more. It's still a bargain for an almost perfect food.

If I sell them from home I charge $2 for a dozen , $3 for a dozen and a half carton , in town I get $4 a dozen and sell only dozen cartons.

[surf]

I agree with you in spirit, but in practice that would mean the head of the Detroit School System would probably qualify for food stamps.

Not that the sitting head of the system deserves to be there at all, but if the salary was so low, how would they ever attract talent into that job?
"talent"?

[kcchiefs6465]

Thats one of the areas where I disagree with Libertarians. So, assuming the job should exist and pointing out that it is going to exist...the median income in Detroit is $26,000. The school system has 52,000 kids in 100 schools. How will you attract someone with the skill set to manage and improve academic performance if you only pay them $26,000 a year?
Detroit is bankrupt. Perhaps if they had paid their civil servants the median income, they'd not be? I'm sure the "talent" got getting while the getting was good. I'd bet they don't even live in Detroit.

And in any case, anything taken aside from what is voluntarily given is theft. It's a slap in the face for these ticks to make as much as they do.

There are people with motives aside from money. I'm sure someone would be up to the task.

Not to mention, under a quarter of the city even graduates. And what are they teaching them? Certainly not fiscal responsibility! College "requirements" and "Columbus founded America," in between pledging allegiance and lockdowns plus metal detectors. What a grand thing to perpetuate.

[angelatc]

Detroit is bankrupt. Perhaps if they had paid their civil servants the median income, they'd not be? I'm sure the "talent" got getting while the getting was good. I'd bet they don't even live in Detroit.

And in any case, anything taken aside from what is voluntarily given is theft. It's a slap in the face for these ticks to make as much as they do.

There are people with motives aside from money. I'm sure someone would be up to the task.

Not to mention, under a quarter of the city even graduates. And what are they teaching them? Certainly not fiscal responsibility! College "requirements" and "Columbus founded America," in between pledging allegiance and lockdowns plus metal detectors. What a grand thing to perpetuate.

Pragmatically, public education is something that an overwhelming majority of the voters support, and to be honest I do too. Despite all the valid criticisms you presented above, it is still a far better education than those kids would get if public education was ended for some strange reason.

[angelatc]

If the incomes of the paxpayers are so low, how do you propose they raise the funds to pay their public employees more than they themselves make?

????? Mathematically, that's the easy part.

[asurfaholic]

I agree with you in spirit, but in practice that would mean the head of the Detroit School System would probably qualify for food stamps.

Not that the sitting head of the system deserves to be there at all, but if the salary was so low, how would they ever attract talent into that job?

If I wanted to pay "talent" with such a huge chunk of MY income, I might hire some people better with my money.

[aGameOfThrones]

For his part, the superintendent said he’s mindful of the needs of the people in his district.

“I do hear you. I’ve listened very carefully, and I will sit and work with the board to deal with your concerns and the concerns they may have, and I think we’ll go through a process,” he said during the meeting.

He continued, claiming he lifted the district from its previously derelict state.

“The facilities here were…my God…some of them were similar to the situation in Haiti,” he said.

Fernandez, like many in government, feels entitled to help himself to compensation the school district never intended for him.

Fernandez declined to address any of the complaints about his compensation package, choosing instead to express his appreciation to the board for its support and touting his accomplishments.

“I want to thank the board for their support,” he said, over catcalls coming from a few members of the audience. “I want to thank residents in the area who voted for the bonds that funded new buildings, new science labs. (http://www.fggam.org/why-did-a-ca-school-board-allow-this-superintendent-to-take-home-3-times-his-agreed-salary/)

And this...


Fernandez, for his part, doesn’t see anything wrong with the largess that board members have lavished on him.

Even though his contract allowed him to amass an obscene $663,000 in total compensation last year, he dismisses it as nothing out of the ordinary.

“This is something that exists in the world of senior managers,” he said of his mortgage loan. Maybe for senior managers of billion-dollar corporations, whose stockholders are paying for it, but it should not exist in the world of public “servants” — especially those who have cut the educational programs they oversee.

The Centinela Valley Union High School District last week offered its teachers a 4.1 percent pay raise — retroactive to July 2013, on top of a 1 percent hike that took effect then — days after the teachers union president, in a Daily Breeze op-ed, blasted the school board and Fernandez for cutting staff and programs while the superintendent was being enriched.

Coincidence? The district’s assistant superintendent of human resources said he didn’t think the timing had anything to do with the op-ed.

But we do. The board and superintendent decided suddenly to give teachers $2.1 million more in salary and benefits. Gee, that’s a little more than three times what the superintendent alone got last year. (http://www.dailynews.com/opinion/20140225/mortgage-loan-shows-centinela-valley-more-devoted-to-superintendent-than-to-students-editorial)


The Slavepayer is getting raped.

[Mini-Me]

"In other news, taxpayers approved a new levy amid concerns the Centinela Valley School District is being underfunded." ;)

[DamianTV]

Throwing money at problems does not solve the problems.

I think it really only opens up doors for the potential of abuse because the administrators will claim to need to be paid millions of dollars a year while everyone else can suffer with minimum wage positions and excesses of responsibility. How is it that teachers get paid 30k a year (roughly, very ballpark figure), yet football coaches make in excess of six figures, sometimes seven (some colleges)? Does football really contribute that much to education?

[Mini-Me]

Throwing money at problems does not solve the problems.

I think it really only opens up doors for the potential of abuse because the administrators will claim to need to be paid millions of dollars a year while everyone else can suffer with minimum wage positions and excesses of responsibility. How is it that teachers get paid 30k a year (roughly, very ballpark figure), yet football coaches make in excess of six figures, sometimes seven (some colleges)? Does football really contribute that much to education?

To be fair, college football coaches make so much for market reasons: Strong football programs bring in a ton of money from the public. They're not only self-funding but turn a profit which benefits the rest of the university...as long as they have a top-tier coach good enough to make it happen. Everything else you said is totally spot on though: Administrative positions in K-12 are ludicrously overpaid, and they have the audacity to cut basic educational cuts and demand more tax levies year after year after year, which corrupt school boards allied with the administrators create tear-jerking propaganda for. It's not quite as bad as Centinela Valley School District everywhere, but the same theme is pervasive.

[DamianTV]

Another contributing factor is that schools get money from property taxes, and we have a massive housing market slump, at least around here...

[HOLLYWOOD]

It's all bullshit out of the mouths of these government elites.

Finland has proven, it doesn't take money, nor does it take extended studies to exceed at education and teaching. Finland has repeatedly, been in the top 5 in world in student results. Finland has also proved they can exceed at a substantially less cost... 1/3 the cost of what California's LAUSD charges taxpayers.

Wealth redistribution to those in Government... man are Americans a bunch of morons to buy into this socialism shit. Fools and their money are shortly departed. I say, they ALL get the national average and get bonuses if they exceed performance standards. But as we know, these self enriching big government thieves only think of exceeding their bank accounts at your expense.

[HOLLYWOOD]

PS: If you have some time, watch this coverage to understand an example of exceeding and pride... because today's children in America, are being screwed by; NEA, AFT, and the worthless garbage at AFSCME... Americans are being conned by government employees, their propaganda, Marxist Media, and the game, which is to steal from taxpayers.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOZR58GQdQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvBYJBTKRn4

[Mini-Me]

PS: If you have some time, watch this coverage to understand an example of exceeding and pride... because today's children in America, are being screwed by; NEA, AFT, and the worthless garbage at AFSCME... Americans are being conned by government employees, their propaganda, Marxist Media, and the game, which is to steal from taxpayers.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOZR58GQdQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvBYJBTKRn4

Thanks for the tubes! That was interesting. I may have to watch the whole report sometime. :) Letting students learn at their own pace reminds me a bit of the Khan method. It requires more work from the teacher, but it's logically superior for the kids, because teaching to the middle (like we do in the US) means the faster kids get bored and distracted, while the slower kids get frustrated and further behind.

[joo003464]

Its been nice to go through your post.
It has given me much knowledge & so many valuable information.

I'm feeling very nice to be here. so enjoyable... ;) ;) ;)

[satchelmcqueen]

the super in bartow county ga makes over 200K per year and has a $800 car allowance EACH MONTH!!!!

[aGameOfThrones]

Its been nice to go through your post.
It has given me much knowledge & so many valuable information.

I'm feeling very nice to be here. so enjoyable... ;) ;) ;)

You NSA? Get out!

[joo003464]

Apologies, I'm not Understand your Language Sir ..

[MRK]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/images/Money%20Bed%20GIF.gif

Obama, Hillary, and Your Taxes

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Pragmatically, public education is something that an overwhelming majority of the voters support, and to be honest I do too. Despite all the valid criticisms you presented above, it is still a far better education than those kids would get if public education was ended for some strange reason.

What makes you say that? American's were more literate in the 19th Century than today. You should peruse the Library of Congress and read the average letter that ordinary soldiers from the North and the South wrote to their families during the War. This, a time before widespread Prussian non-sense invaded America.

[moostraks]

Pragmatically, public education is something that an overwhelming majority of the voters support, and to be honest I do too. Despite all the valid criticisms you presented above, it is still a far better education than those kids would get if public education was ended for some strange reason.

Pragmatically, many of us have studied the issue of the ignorance of your average citizen and have seen that the system doesn't work and is ripe for abuse. Emotionally, the argument is reasonable that we must do it for the sake of the child. When most of the voting public have been educated in a particular fashion it is not surprising to see they would vote for more public education especially when emotional arguments are presented. The government schools have replaced the trust and relationship a parent and child have for one another. So it is not surprising to see people want to defer to the authority of the state which has nurtured the voter.

[Ender]

What makes you say that? American's were more literate in the 19th Century than today. You should peruse the Library of Congress and read the average letter that ordinary soldiers from the North and the South wrote to their families during the War. This, a time before widespread Prussian non-sense invaded America.

'Zactly.

High school students today cannot pass the 8th grade tests of 100 years ago.

The problem with public "education" is that it is forced and it was designed to make compliant factory workers. Those that do well are good at regurgitating- they are not learning.

Coercion never stays in the soul.

[Ender]

Thanks for the tubes! That was interesting. I may have to watch the whole report sometime. :) Letting students learn at their own pace reminds me a bit of the Khan method. It requires more work from the teacher, but it's logically superior for the kids, because teaching to the middle (like we do in the US) means the faster kids get bored and distracted, while the slower kids get frustrated and further behind.

Also- no one learns the same.

I have a brother that is a blinkin' genius, but he learns when he is ready and then he is a vacuum cleaner- WHOOSH! "Got it!"

He learned to read from one book; spell in one day; music in one week- BUT if he had gone to public school he would have been considered an idiot and put in resource.