The MSD Decatur Township School Board meets this Thursday night, beginning at 7:00 pm in the Board room at the Central Office. If you plan to speak, you will have to sign up.
At that meeting, further cuts will be voted on - this time in full view of the public. But, the cuts made on January 28 were insufficient. You will recall that at the public comment meeting on the evening of January 27, the public was told that the following evening would be only a work session and that public comment would not be taken. That, as it turns out, was false. It was an executive session followed by a special session followed by a work session - all held outside of the regular Board room - which was a violation of state law.
At the special session the Board voted to cut Superintendent Don Stinson's salary by 15 %, although the district press release would have us believe he asked for a 20% cut. The Board should vote to increase Stinson's salary and benefit cuts to 20%. Number 1 - he got us into this financial mess. Number 2 - he likely will resign before the cuts go into effect, anyway. Number 3 - Stinson is the 2nd highest paid Superintendent in Central Indiana, which is ludicrous. Cutting 20% would still give him over $166,000 in salary plus cash benefits.
On the 28th, the Board also voted to cut all administrator salaries by 5%. They should up that to 15%. Alternatively, they could cut all administrators back to $100,000 a year - saving even more.
Also at the meeting, the Board voted to cut two positions in the Central Office -- and the press release said that Asst. Superintendent Jeff Baer's resignation counted for one of those. For those who do not know, Baer's successor has already been named. So, there really is only one administrator job cut in the Central Office. There can easily be more. Lets say that Candice Baer's position is the lone cut already offered. She is intent on leaving and the position was created just for her anyway. But, we can add Dave Rather's retirement as another position. I have already made the argument that we can get professionals to fill Susan Adam's and Gary Pellico's positions (head custodian and public information officer, respectively) for a fraction of their salaries.
This should be the first order of business for the School Board on Thursday night; bigger cuts in Administrative positions and salaries. That is a real loss of 2 positions and a downgrade of 2 others. And, lets face it, this still leaves the Central Office fat with 9 Administrators making huge salaries. Compare that with closing one of our four elementary schools and it seems downright generous.
see also: More Violations of State Law by Decatur School Board and Administration
Decatur School Board Votes at Work Session
Top Decatur School District Salaries for 2008-2009 School Year
How to Minimize the Impact of Decatur School District Cuts
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Mark Small posted a blog post
3 hours ago
31 comments:
When will the board ever stop just handing out money for the good ol' boys? Also, Pat is there any way of knowing if anyone has went down and filled out paperwork to run for the school board positions that are open?
Anon 12:10 -- You can check on the Election Board web page of the Clerk's site.
http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Clerk/Election/Pages/home.aspx
About half way down the page is "Click here to view a current list of declared candidates for 2010" That is a link to a file that is updated each day with the names of those who have filed to be on the ballot on May 4.
as of last week no one had filed for school board positions in decatur
Jeff Baer's replacement has not only already been NAMED - his replacement has already been HIRED!
When you obtained the administrative salaries through public records, you said their
January income is submitted to the state every year. I wonder - does anyone get any bonuses February through December?
2010 Candidate Filings, as of 2/8/2010 @ 4:03pm
None for Decatur yet.
Link to Election Board Page
http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Clerk/Election/Pages/home.aspx
Had Enough Indy ? said...
This should be the first order of business for the School Board on Thursday night; bigger cuts in Administrative positions and salaries. That is a real loss of 2 positions and a downgrade of 2 others. And, lets face it, this still leaves the Central Office fat with 9 Administrators making huge salaries. Compare that with closing one of our four elementary schools and it seems downright generous.
There may be 9 "Administrators", but between Central Office (or LLC or whatever they're calling themselves these days) and the Technology Department there are 46 EMPLOYEES.
They need to consolidate some of these positions, get rid of all the academic coaches and keep the principals. We need them to help keep discipline so the majority of the kids can learn.
You hinted in your post that Stinson may resign before the cuts go into effect. What is this based on?
anon 7:36 -- it is my supposition that it will be too much work to dig the district out of the financial hole he created. The public has little patience left for him to remain, as well. Thus, I think he will retire - unless he thinks he can get more money out of the district by playing 'hard to get gone'.
Well I am very disappointed so far that no concerned citizens have yet to signup to run for the school board seats up for grab. I am unfortunately in District 2. How can we have change if noone steps up? Come on people lets show this board that their rein is over. We can't vote them out if no one runs against them.
anon 12:07 -- well said. If you are considering a run - get your signatures now and make a decision after you know you can make the filing deadline.
Ask everyone you know to run.
noon Friday, February 19, is the deadline
Unfortunately, it may be too late to do anything about the number of administrators or their salaries since the February 1 deadline to notify them has passed. They will get their titles and their wages for another year! They could voluntarily take less or have a new assignment - doubt if they will volunteer.
There are other money savings things. Lisa Cook does not have an administrator contract so they could pay her reasonable wages. Has anyone looked into what Pam Johnson is paid? Does the superintendent's secretary get the same insurance for no charge as do the administrators? Can they at least be told that they will get a 30 minute paid lunch instead of a couple of hours? Can they require Susan Adams and Don Stinson to share the truck instead of paying for 2 vehicles. At $12,000 per year plus gas he must be driving a mercedes????? Oh, the little secrets.
The dollar figures I see are different. A review of Stinson's contract from the Indianapolis Star indicates the following:
Base Salary - $189,287.41
Bonus - $4,000
Bonus - $20,000
Health/Dental Ins. - $1833.92
Annuities (in lieu) - $40,000
Buyout Days - $15,000
Car Allowance - $12,00
Life Insuarnce Cost of $250,000 - ?
Long Term Disability Ins. - ?
TRF purchase of service - ?
Presentations of reinvention - ?
Total Paid - $298,619.33 plus the ? costs. If they only decrease his base pay by 15% he will make $270,226.22. If he takes 15% of total paid he will make $253,826.43.
Regardless, he is VERY well paid.
Is Dave Rather retiring?
anon 12:13 -- it has been my understanding for a few years now, that Dave would retire as soon as the high school project was completed. His salary is coming from the bond issue, and that will no longer be possible once the project is done.
Yes, that was my understanding that he was going to retire as soon as the building project was completed but he has recently stated to some employees that he will retire in a couple of years. Maybe the financial crisis has caused this.
anon 12:29 -- well that means Stinson has to come up with another $140,000 plus benefits in the general fund. That would negate the one central office administrator position that was cut. Remember, they are trying to make cuts to the expenses tied to the general fund ($5.6 m), the transportation fund ($1.2 m), and the capital projects fund ($3.0 m).
I would also gladly run but am in District 2. Please, Please someone step up! You have my vote if you will please run.
Has anyone contacted Dave Brown about running??
Just like anon 4:03, we have had quite a few folks from district 2 seriously consider running - until they find that they are disqualified this time around.
If you know folks in Heartland Crossing, in particular, ask them to consider running. Heartland is the lion's share of the population in district 3. The district covers everything north of Kentucky Ave (with a tiny exception) and everything west of Mendenhall/Paddock.
District 1 runs roughly from the northeast corner of the township, down Kentucky Ave, around I-465, and back up the river.
Not sure if you are qualified to be on the school board?
Do any of the people on the school board NOW seem qualified to you?
Not sure if you can make a difference?
Do any of the people on the school board NOW (except maybe Greenwald if he had some company) seem to have a backbone?
I wouldnt be singing Doug Greenwalds praises to quickly. I have talked to a lot of people and they all seem to think that as soon as they fire Pat at the pavillion they are going to hire Greenwalds son to replace her. Where is Wayne Fisher at why isnt he speaking up to save her job. I see her at the pavillion more then I see him. She has been there since the place opened.Seems to me Greenwald has Wayne in his pocket. You want to save money get rid of him and keep her. She makes less then him and looks like she can do his job.
It is about backbone and it is about nepotism and it is about ethical behavior. The board does not seek adequate information to make good decisions and maybe they too are afraid to ask questions. The teachers, secretaries, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers should attend the meetings this week. Will they be allowed to ask questions if they are willing to? The teachers could ask their union to ask the questions and be safe. They have already put Greenwald's friend Kelly McWilliams in charge of athletics so she will probably hire Greenwald's son. How sweet.
The last poster mentioned that Kelly McWilliams is in charge of athletics. Is she the new high school athletic director?
You're assuming that the union will actually ask all the questions that teachers want asked.
We need to remember that a lot of us have lived in Decatur Township our entire lives and just because we know "everyone" and befriend people doesn't mean that we give them special treatment as their "employer" or "boss". I don't believe for one minute that Doug Greenwald would give Kelly McWilliams "special" treatment because he knows her or befriends her. Most of these board members have lived here all their lives and will do the right thing when it comes to hiring and firing, but to assume that she got that position because of "him", is ludicrous. Can we get back to the "real issues" and stop with the assumptions?
As "Nicole" requested in another posting, I'm stepping up to reveal my postings... now that I know I can add my "name" to them. Like I said, I'm new at this game. :) I posted "February 11, 2010 11:13 AM".
Anna Cook's salary will move from Title one money to general fund. Her seniority will give her a job and a less experienced teacher will be RIFed.
What was the percent of increase for Stinson's contract signed July, 2009? Did he get a raise and then simply "give it back"?
I find it quite humorous that Stinson stated he wanted to give up 20% of his salary, and the board would only approve 15%! How rediculous does that sound? Come on do you think people in this township are that nieve?
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