Decatur Schools Referendum - Accountablility

I don't know how I will vote on the May 6 Referendum that would increase property taxes for the benefit of the Decatur School District (MSD Decatur Township). 

I do, however, know that I resent having to make this decision.

How did we get to this point? 

Why, of course, through unrestrained, extravagant, spending by former Superintendent Don Stinson, his #1 guy, Jeff Baer, and the Decatur School Board - primarily former member Don Huffman and current members Larry Taylor, Judy Collins, Cathy Wiseman, and Dale Henson.

Most folks are aware of are all the new school facilities.  What most do not realize is that in 2002 a respected accounting firm, Umbaugh and Associates, analyzed the ability of the community to handle various debt loads.  That year the total debt stood at $25.5 Million.  They concluded that by 2010, Decatur Schools could grow the debt to $80.9 Million and the community would be in a good position to afford the taxes.  Instead, our 'trusted' leaders sank us in $266.7 Million in debt by 2009.  This is a crushing debt load - one we continue to pay dearly for to this day.  It is also the primary cause of any need for passage of the upcoming Referendum.

To pay for all the School Building projects, we were told our property taxes would rise the equivalent of a weekly meal at McDonalds.  Instead, our taxes more than doubled.  Thank goodness for the property tax caps that protected us from the full brunt of our wayward School Board.

Not content with all that rubber stamped, irresponsible spending, the School Board also went on a property buying spree. They bought the old Concentra Building (Southwest Pavilion) across Kentucky Avenue from the High School and hundreds of acres of land for which there was no immediate need.  In most instances, they did not get the two appraisals required by State Law in order to protect the taxpayers from malfeasance.  In one case they got a single appraisal and then paid 40% more for the property - another clear violation of State Law.

But, they didn't care.  Somehow the taxpayers were just the chumps at the other end of the debt.

The District took out a short term loan, usually paid back once tax money is distributed by the State.  But, they didn't pay the loan back when they got the tax proceeds.  Instead, they spent the tax money and only paid interest on the loan.  That was until the stuff hit the fan and they could no longer stay on that course.  So, they floated new debt to pay off the short term loans.

Still not content, they raised Administrator salaries with abandon.  Most Administrators saw their salaries double, the Superintendent saw his more than triple.  This caused the escalation of Administrator salaries in Marion County and Central Indiana - as the Superintendents manipulated their Boards and the situation to grow their salaries over that puny District in Decatur Township.  Every grossly exaggerated salary at the administrator level directly impacts how many teachers can be hired and thereby class size.

By 2009, Central Office expenses had ballooned to over 10% of all General Fund expenses - far outstripping other Marion County Districts.

Hyperinflated salaries weren't enough, either. 

Golden parachutes, above and beyond the tidy nest eggs the District already paid for, were devised for 5 'retiring' Administrators.  The total added up to nearly a Million Dollars.  Even today, they also either receive free health insurance or its cash equivalent until they and their spouses reach the age of 65 and qualify for Medicare.  The cash equivalent this year is over $19,000 per family.  Money that could be used better, for sure.

In the case of the loans and golden parachutes, Superintendent Stinson acted unilaterally - meaning without the approval of the Board.  Both times, when the actions were aired in public, the Board retroactively approved his actions.

I could add to this the hiring of relatives, catered meals before each Board meeting, and other small extravagances engaged in by the Board.  I could go on about the redistricting, causing the need to transport children to the opposite ends of the Township instead of to their closest elementary school, driven by the fact that poor school performance threatened the receipt of federal funds linked to 'No Child Left Behind'.

Since its peak, debt has been going down and, of all the excess property, at least the Concentra Building (Southwest Pavilion) has been sold.  Current debt load is just shy of $140 Million.  Still, this leaves our community with the highest tax rate for School debt of any District in Marion County, and much larger than our nearest neighbors in Hendricks and Morgan Counties.

Looking at abutting School Districts, the school debt tax rate for 2014 is  (dollars per $100 assessed value):

Decatur           1.4766     (1.7752 if referendum to increase by 0.2986 had been approved for this year)
Wayne            1.3787
Perry               0.5048     (0.6287 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Mooresville     0.3411
Plainfield         0.6862

Other tax rates for school debt in Marion County for 2014 are:

Franklin           1.1289
Lawrence         0.3040
Pike                  0.2700    (0.2893 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Warren             0.8858
Washington      0.1725
Beech Grove    1.4243     (1.7743 if you include tax approved by referendum)
IPS                    0.4297     (0.5087 if you include tax approved by referendum)
Speedway         0.0856

That's how we got to this point, where now the community must weigh the pros and cons of approving an additional property tax through a referendum.  Is it throwing good money after bad, or will it mend what the School Board broke?

A friend recently asked me how much the School Board members make.  I don't know the current amounts, but they generally get about $2000 per year plus a some amount for each meeting they attend - perhaps amounting to $5000 per year each.  My friend suggested that the least the Board could do is forsake any compensation for as long as they remain Board Members.  That makes a lot of sense to me.

I'd also like to see each of the four active Board members who are responsible for our financial mess, Taylor, Collins, Wiseman, and Henson, stand up in a public meeting and apologize for putting us in these straits.  How else can we be sure they will not just spend the new money with the same lack of fiscal responsibility they spent all the other money we taxpayers have sent their way.

The least they can do is have the common decency to not run for election again.

Lawsuits Pile Up Against Decatur Schools

"Reporter of the Year" award recipient, Kara Kenney, reports on two recent lawsuits brought against the MSD Decatur Township.  These are in addition to the racial harassment lawsuit filed last August by a 16 year old student (see "Decatur School District - Discrimination Lawsuits and (Could It Be?) Stinson Retiring").

Kenney reports:

Bus driver Teresa Surber, 56, alleges she went on medical leave for a hysterectomy in the spring of 2011 and when she returned, MSD of Decatur Township did not renew her contract.

Surber had worked with MSD of Decatur Township for 25 years, RTV6's Kara Kenney reported. 

In the lawsuit filed May 11, Surber alleged the district kept younger, less qualified bus drivers.

The next filing mentioned by Kenney is the 2nd one filed by former School District Security Officer, Keith Jones.

Jones filed an age discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after he was terminated in 2010. 

Jones’ [2nd] lawsuit states the school’s former Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Baer, retaliated against him by coming out of retirement to write a letter in Jones’ file calling him a “bad employee.” 

“That was wrong,” said Ken Roberts, Jones’ attorney. “It’s important because Jones was an elderly employee and elderly employees should have the same rights as everyone else. You should not discriminate on the basis of age. And once someone makes a charge of discrimination you can’t come back and retaliate against the person.” 

Roberts said Jones had no previous write ups, and an otherwise clean employee record.

In addition to suing the District, Jones' lawsuit over retaliation also names individuals Don Stinson, Jeff Baer, Susan Adams as well as the District's attorney, Jon Bailey, and his law firm, Bose, McKinney & Evans.  Bailey was also the attorney for Wayne Township's School District when former Superintendent Thompon's infamous contract was signed and which is now a matter of litigation (see Kenney's earlier report on WRTV "Atty. Central to Superintendent's $1 Million Retirement Fired").

Jones filed an age discrimination complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on January 4, 2011.  On January 19, 2011, after the District was notified of the complaint by the EEOC, Jeff Baer came back to the District headquarters and penned a negative letter against Jones and put it in Jones' file.  Baer had been retired from the District for six months when he penned the letter.  Retaliation against an employee for filing a complaint is strictly against the law.

Curiously, the Distict's attorney handling Jones' age discrimination lawsuit, Karen Sharp, tells Kenney the following:

On behalf of the school district, attorney Karen Sharp told RTV6 there is no evidence Jones’ firing and failure to rehire him was because of his age. 

“Mr. Jones, the Plaintiff in this lawsuit, previously filed two charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against MSD of Decatur Township, both of which have been dismissed as lacking evidence of any violation of the civil rights laws. The school agrees with the assessment of the EEOC that the Plaintiffs claims are meritless and will defend the lawsuit on that basis,” Sharp said in a statement.

It is curious that a lawyer would characterize the EEOC's action of 'dismissing' the complaint as meaning it lacked evidence of a violation.  In two minutes I was able to get the following from the EEOC's website:

If you plan to file a lawsuit alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or retaliation, you first have to file a charge with one of our field offices (unless you plan to bring your lawsuit under the Equal Pay Act, which allows you to go directly to court without filing a charge). We will give you what is called a “Notice-of-Right-to- Sue” at the time we dismiss your charge, usually, after completion of an investigation. However, we may dismiss for other reasons, including failure to cooperate in an investigation. This notice gives you permission to file a lawsuit in a court of law.

So, when the EEOC 'dismisses' a charge, it simultaneously issues a "notice-of-right-to-sue".  One cannot file a lawsuit until the EEOC reviews your charges and finds, in fact, that there just may be substance to your claims - not that no such substance exists.  Why a lawyer (also with Bose, McKinney & Evans) would make such statement to the press is perplexing, as it surely misrepresents what the EEOC process actual is.

Jones lawsuit over retaliation claims that Susan Adams, Don Stinson, and Jeff Baer conspired to have Baer to come to the District offices specifically to write the negative letter for the file. It further asserts that the letter contained false information and that Bailey repeated that false information in his response to the EEOC regarding Jones' age discrimination complaint.

At this point, the School District is fighting 4 lawsuits - one for racial discrimination and harrassment, two for age discrimination and one for retaliation.

Don Stinson Announces Retirement

From a press release dated March 14, 2012...

MSD Decatur Superintendent, Don Stinson, announced his retirement at Tuesday's board meeting.  The retirement is apparently effective June 30.  The Board immediately and unanimously voted to put Dr. Debra Sullivan as his replacement.

This says yet again to the Decatur community, that the Board does not care what you think.  Every other Superintendent replacement has an open, community involved, search.  Since Sullivan has been the steward of debatable educational improvements all these years as Stinson's right arm, it bogs the district down with stale old ideas.

The agenda did not advertise the Superintendent vote, so Decaturites had absolutely no chance to weigh in.

MSD Decatur Still Doesn't Care About The Laws

The MSD Decatur had some significant issues brought to light in the latest audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts.

Kara Kenney, ace reporter for WRTV, is reporting on the audit today (see "Audit Questions School's Pricey Tips, Late Fees").  The audit covers the two year period from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011.

The SBOA finds that the Decatur School District yet again spent more money than the School Board appropriated and more than the State Department of Local Government Finance approved.  The School Board, true to their rubber stamp ways, amended the appropriations after the fact, but the DLGF would not.  The SBOA audit shows that in 2010, under the so called leadership of Don Stinson and Jeff Baer, the district overspent three funds to the tune of $2.4 million (see p 44 of the pdf).  It is against the law for a governmental unit to spend more than is appropriated at a public hearing that follows specific notification rules.  Of course, the only news publication that the district publishes in is the low circulation Mooresville-Decatur Times, keeping prying public eyes from even the slightest information.

The audit also uncovered what has to be the most lame brained goof up in recent memory.  After purchasing property, the district did not alert the Auditor's Office of that ownership, AND PAID PROPERTY TAXES for 3 1/2 years !  It gets worse in that they paid late penalties for two of the payments.  All for a grand total of $338,935.41 in taxes and penalties THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE TO PAY ! (see p 42 of the pdf) They are now trying to find a way to get the money back.

The property in question was purchased in November, 2006.  This very well might be the infamous former Concentra building property (now the Southwest Pavilion) across Kentucky Avenue from the High School.  This property appears on the Marion County Assessor's website under the old owners' names and with a total Assessed Value of nearly $3.4 million.  You will remember that they bought this property without a single appraisal - another violation of State law (see "Decatur School Board Broke State Law in Purchase of Property")

Speaking of late penalties, the audit also reveals that the district paid penalties and interest totaling $13,771.48 to the State because of a late payment of withholding taxes.

The audit found the district did not reconcile bank statement with their records, an old complaint found in earlier audits - insufficient documentation of travel expenses, another repeated complaint - insufficient documentation of Average Daily Membership (ADM - the number upon which the State determines the amount of money a district will receive for the year) - overdrawn negative balances in two funds - and a $232,820 public works project that was not properly put out for bid.

If anyone in Decatur Township still thinks that the Don Stinson or the rubberstamping School Board care how our tax money is spent, then they will never accept reality.

Decatur School District - Discrimination Lawsuits and (Could It Be?) Stinson Retiring

The MSD Decatur Township School District has been rocked by not one, but two federal lawsuits claiming discrimination. 

The first was filed in June by the Mother of a Decatur Central High School student who suffered racial harassment by fellow students, which it seems, the administration did little to stop.  WRTV's Joanna Massee reported it thusly:

The family of a former Decatur Central High School student has filed suit against the district, which they claim did little to stop repeated racial taunts aimed at the 16-year-old girl.

The sophomore, who is black, said she received an offensive cellphone message during class and had been approached by other students who addressed her using racial slurs, 6News' Joanna Massee reported.

The girl's mother, Chereall DeBoest, played 6News the cellphone message, which includes a picture of a Ku Klux Klan member fishing with fried chicken, as well as audio including defamatory language.

Just last week, a former employee filed an age and disability lawsuit against the District.  Fox 59 reporter, Anne Yeager, described it this way:

A former employee said a Central Indiana school fired him because he was diagnosed with cancer.  

Keith Jones, 61, worked as a police officer for the Decatur Township School District for 14 years. He was stunned to lose his job last summer.

His boss told him he was being laid off due to "fiscal restructuring." Jones' friends and colleagues told him that wasn't the reason at all, though. Co-workers told him the district's insurance carrier had red-flagged Jones, after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and 2005.

Jones admits he needed regular radiation treatments and expensive surgeries. He said he was appalled when he learned that just two months later, the district hired an officer "half his age" to fill the position.

Whether related to the pressures of these lawsuits or the crushing debt he imposed on the District, Superintendent Don Stinson is rumored to be looking to retire.  By the way, Stinson is said to have announced all this to the staff of the Gold Academy on Monday.

The rumors are consistent in that Nan Wiseman, current Principal at the Gold Academy, will move into the Central Office and take Assistant Superintendent Debbie Sullivan's job.  Sullivan would move up to Superintendent. 

Where the rumors diverge is whether Stinson would retire in January, or stay on, ala Wayne Township's Tommy Thompson, hauling down a fit salary for little work.  In this version of the rumor, Stinson would remain on salary as a "mentor" to Sullivan.  As we know, Thompson was turned out of his cush semi-retirement, "Superintendent Emeritus" gig once the public became aware of his scamming the taxpayers.  Stinson may believe he can out Thompson Thompson, given his rubberstamping School Board who questions nothing he does.

We shall see.  The District is in a huge mess and after all, rats will be rats and flee a sinking ship. 

Indiana State Legislature To Study School Superintendents' Salaries

Good news for those who believe that public tax money has been used to bloat and overpay administrator salaries in our public school districts.  Kara Kenney, of WTHR, is reporting that Legislators will hold a summer study committee to look into the issue.  "This summer, a bipartisan legislative committee will study pay and benefit packages for the state's 291 school superintendents" Kenney reported.

Here is some more of her report:

State Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, requested the evaluation after 6News' coverage of former Wayne Township Superintendent Terry Thompson's $1 million retirement package.

"I'm alarmed to watch your stories about superintendents making a $1 million severance package when they leave a school system," Banks said. "It's startling as a taxpayer."

Banks said he believes administrator salaries have become bloated, all while teachers are being laid off and programs are cut.

"The superintendent receives a nice package in one district, and the district next door demands to be paid as well as the other superintendents," Banks said. "I think it's caused inflation of salaries around the state, and that's why I think we need to look into the issue."

and base salaries without perks and benefits of some superintendents:

Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White makes the most statewide, earning $272,940 for a district of more than 33,000 students.

The superintendent of Greater Clark County Schools ranks second, making $225,500 in a district with just over 10,000 students.

Donald Stinson of Decatur Township Schools ranked eighth, with a base salary of $189,287 for a district with about 6,400 students.

The WRTV website provides a link to a list of superintendent salaries across the state.

Decaturites - The Bus Drivers Need Your Help

Tonight, the MSD Decatur Township school board will vote on a new transportation plan that has the aim of pushing out our longest serving and most experienced bus drivers.

The agenda  (abysmal in its lack of detail, as always) notes the item as "4.05 Approval of Transportation Restructuring Plan -- Mr. Stinson".  Don't know what the transportation restructuring plan is?  That's what they want - nobody in the public has access to the exact plan without filing an open records request and hope to get it by tonight. 

This administration is putting out different information to different people - some of it simple falsehoods to keep the fires low. 

The bus drivers have been told that on May 27 they will be "technically unemployed".  They have been required to fill out a job application, including submitting references.  They have been told that they will be evaluated on a points system that has secretly been in place all year.  They have been told that the secret points system includes giving a demerit for using sick leave.  When asked to provide the drivers with the criteria for the point system, they were told that they could not see it.  When asked for the criteria for re-hiring, they are told that nothing exists to show them. 

The press is being told that property tax caps and school funding cuts are the cause of the districts transportation budget woes.  Even though the district knew last year, that the budget for transportation would be $2 million, they are spending almost twice that on a transportation scheme that was tried and failed in Perry Township earlier.  Even though they bought more buses and hired more drivers, this administration supposedly thought they would save money, not spend more money.  This is exhibit A in how very incompetent the Stinson administration and this rubber stamping school board are.

Some people have been told that the bus drivers have only been asked to indicate their intent to return to work next year.  This is a lie.

This administration has a clear pattern of keeping as much of the community in the dark as possible.  The agenda is uninformative.  Unlike any number of other school districts whose agendas are posted online with the underlying documents easily accessible, our district continues to keep the agenda limited to pablum. 

If you go to a meeting, you cannot tell what is being discussed because there is never full disclosure of the information, even at the meeting.  It is as if you walked into a private conversation if you go to a board meeting - which is pretty much the reality.  Community input is only a hindrence to these people.

Stinson and the rubber stamping school board just bought 134 acres of land.  The district has so much debt, that property taxes will not cover the payments and they had to let teachers go just last year to make ends meet.  Yet, their greed knows no bounds and they bought land they actually have no idea how they will use.  They already own over 100 acres; some of which was purchased without following the law for appraisals and some land for which they paid half again as much as it was worth.  They already own the old Concentra Building on Kentucky Avenue and refuse to sell it.  Our debt payments could be much lower if they showed any fiscal responsibility.  Yet, they buy even more property. 

So, there is enough money to buy unneeded property, but not enough money to safely and efficiently transport Decatur's children to school. 

Meanwhile, the bus drivers are our neighbors.  They are among the handful of employees who actually live in Decatur.  Go figure -- your tax dollars are going to pay outrageous salaries to administrators who refuse to live with us.  But, most of the drivers are from our community.  They know your children.  They care for your children.  They will call you if your child is not where they were supposed to be or if you are not home when they go to drop your child off.

Stinson gets an obscene amount of money for a Superintendent of a small district.  He gives administrators unusually high salaries and benefits - plus has implemented an unfunded liability in promised future payments for retirement packages that will haunt our budget for the next generation. 

The bus drivers' sin is that they do not matter to Don Stinson.  Stinson told the drivers that all employees had to share in the pain.  When asked what he was giving up, he said, : "If you don't like it, quit."

This community ought to tell Stinson and the rubber stamping school board that they need to cut administrator salaries and positions (as they promised to do, but have not done), and if they don't like it, they can quit.

Decatur School Superintendent Gets Light Penalty For Drunk Driving

The Decatur School Board met last night and gave Superintendent a very light penalty for his drunk driving arrest in mid-December. WRTV's Kara Kenney covered the meeting and filed her report, entitled "Board Tweaks Policies After Superintendent's DUI Arrest".

Kenney reports:

Board members decided that Stinson will have to undergo an alcohol and drug assessment at his expense, in addition to community service, with a focus on making good decisions and no automatic renewal of his contract. Any further alcohol incidents will result in automatic termination.

and

Wiseman also said the board is looking at morality clauses for employees.

"We're working on putting that in our board policy and with the school, as well as all the administration and the teachers," said Wiseman.

Decatur School Board To Meet Tuesday & Thursday Nights

The MSD Decatur Township School Board will meet this Tuesday, January 11, first in Executive Session at 5:30 pm, followed by the regular meeting at 7:00 pm. The usual, uninformative, agenda can be found here. The Mooresville Decatur Times has indicated that the Executive Session will include discussion of Superintendent Don Stinson's DUI and possible penalties.

The Board has also scheduled a work session for Thursday night, beginning at 6:30 pm. An equally uninformative agenda (here) states only one item, "1. Facility Rental".

Monkey Business With Stinson's Contracts - Why?

There were two contracts for Decatur Schools Superintendent Don Stinson for last school year. One was provided to the Indianapolis Star and published by them as part of their Superintendent compensation database. I downloaded that file and I have reposted it here. The Star database continues to contain their summary of each of the contracts, but the links to the actual contracts no longer work. The summary page for Stinson's contract, shows a base salary of $189,287.41, and scrolling down, it shows an annuity of $40,000. This is also what is contained in the contract I downloaded from IndyStar.com a year ago.

The school district, however, is now supplying reporters with a different contract from last year. WRTV posts the first page here. It shows a base salary of $302,433.41 and an annuity (VALIC) of $55,500. The contract also states that he will be paid in 24 pays of $12,601.39, which adds up to $302,433.36 -- within pennies of the stated base pay, not that amount minus the cost of the annuity.

The district now claims that the number listed as Stinson's base pay, is in fact more than just the base pay. They are claiming the following items go into that figure.

base pay -- $189,287.41
health insurance -- $19,812.00
disability insurance -- $834.00
vehicle allowance -- $12,000.00
bonus -- $20,000.00
incentive pay -- $5,000.00
annuity -- $55,500.00

Several questions arise. Why were there two contracts for last year? Why is the annuity different in them? Why would you report, on one version of the contract, a base pay that is inflated? Which figure was supplied to the Teacher Retirement Fund? (salary is the dominant component for calculating retirement benefits from the Fund) How much did the district pay into the Teacher Retirement Fund to purchase the two years of service also required by his contract? (this is about 15% of salary, so it is a significant amount of money) How much did Stinson take home every payday? Was he being paid monthly for a bonus he had not yet earned? Was he receiving money in his paycheck that duplicated the amount the district was paying into an annuity for him, as the figures on the newly release contract imply?

Now, on to the new contract, which you can view here. The District is claiming that new contract is patterned after the newly release version of the old contract. Thus, they say, while the contract states that his base pay is $275,539.41, it is really not his base pay. His base pay, they claim, is $189,287.41, unchanged from last year. They claim that $275,539.41 is composed of these items:

base pay -- $189,287.41
health insurance -- $19,812.00
disability insurance -- $834.00
vehicle allowance -- $12,000.00
bonus -- $20,000.00
incentive pay -- $6,500.00
annuity -- $27,106.00

More questions arise. Why put in a contract, an inflated number for base pay? Is the contract legally binding as written, or is it legally binding as claimed? The 2nd and 3rd page of this contract shows all of these items except base pay, plus other items like the purchase of additional years of service for Stinson from the Teacher Retirement Fund. These pages are the addendum to the contract. This addendum begins:

The Board of Education of the MSD of Decatur Township and Donald H. Stinson has entered into a Regular Teacher's Contract for the employment of Donald H.
Stinson as the Superintendent of Schools for the MSD of Decatur Township.

The Board and Superintendent now desire to supplement the provisions contained in the contract and agree to the addendum as follows:

The items listed in the addendum SUPPLEMENT the contract. If the District's claims are true, then they have a contract that first inflates the base pay, and then adds all of those extra items in yet again. What would a court enforce as payment to Stinson? What are the taxpayers on the hook for? What is the real size of Stinson's paychecks?

Of all of these questions - the most important are:

Why were there two very different contracts for last school year?
If their claims are true, why are they inflating the value of the base pay on the contract?
What are the taxpayers on the hook for - what the contract says, or what the district claims the contract really says?

No Morals Clause in Stinson's Contract

WRTV reporter, Kara Kenney, had a piece last night about Decatur Schools Superintendent, Don Stinson, and his contract.

Her report centered on Stinson's $1000 per month and free gasoline portion of his contract. She starts with:

Some are questioning why a superintendent who had his license suspended after a DUI arrest is still getting a vehicle allowance from the district.

She also notes that there is no morals clause in Stinson's contract, unlike contracts with other Superintendents in the area. This means that the Board can not fire him for cause, no matter what.

But some in the community have questioned Stinson's compensation and why his contract did not include a morality clause, protecting the district if officials break the law.

She also reports that he did take a salary cut, but only 9%, not the promised 15%.

Last year, Decatur Township Schools grappled with a $5 million budget deficit, prompting Stinson to take a 15 percent cut to his base salary.

However, when factoring in his total income from salary and benefits, Stinson's compensation was cut more like 9 percent from $302,433 to $275,539, according to records provided to 6News.

District spokesman Robin Gregory said the cut came out of Stinson's annuities, which is the district's contribution to his retirement.

Multiple contracts and funny business with them has led to the difference between Kenney's report and my last post "Another Lie From Decatur School District - This Time Its a Whopper !"

More on that in my next post.

Another Lie From Decatur School District - This Time its a Whopper !

Faithful readers of this blog will remember the ''fiscal restructuring" that MSD Decatur Township went through this past spring. Teachers laid off, one elementary school closed entirely, other employees let go, hours cut back, and health insurance benefits cut. You will remember the back and forth between Superintendent Don Stinson and his ever faithful rubber stamping Board of Education. Stinson said, 'please cut my salary by 20% as a sign of solidarity with our new fiscal reality'. The ever faithful Board replied, 'but, Don, its just too much of a reduction. Can you live with a 15% cut?' And Stinson thought about it for a second and said, 'why, yes. Yes, I think I can.'

Now if you'd like to guess what Stinson's salary reduction was and what his new base salary weighs in on, don't scroll down yet. His base for the last school year was $189,287. So, a 15% cut would amount to $28,393 for a final base salary of $160,894. When you are ready with your guess at his new base salary, scroll down.







Superintendent Don Stinson's new base salary for the 2010-2011 school year is (drum roll, please), $275,539. He didn't get any 15% pay cut. He enjoyed a whopping $86,252 INCREASE. That amounts to a 45.6% RAISE.

I have posted his old contract and new contract on GoogleDocs. If you can't access them and would like me to email you copies, please contact me at hadenoughindy@gmail.com

You can fool all of the people some of the time - some of the people all of the time - but, you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

[edited to add: For those of you who are interested, Stinson's base salary alone translates into $1331 per day actually worked. That is a 260 day contract minus the holidays, personal days, vacation, etc. Its far more money in pocket when you add in the rest of the perks, like $19,812 cash instead of health insurance, a $27,106 contributed to an annuity, $12,000 vehicle allowance, $6500 incentives, and $20,000 bonus. These items alone add another $85,418 a year or $412 a day.]

Lack of Full Disclosure - Modus Operandi for MSD Decatur Township

After Gary Pellico supposedly left the employ of MSD Decatur Township this fall, his duties as public information officer/media contact person for the District were divided between Superintendent Don Stinson and a Robin Gregory. Gregory, her husband Todd, and their children, live in Decatur Township.

Gregory has a growing reputation as someone who ignores open records requests, as she has mine and other individuals that I know. So, giving out information is not her strong suit.

But, you do have to wonder why a person whose job it is to interact with the media and foster good will among reporters, would hold back important information from those same people. But, apparently, that is what Gregory has done.

A front page story in today's IndyStar, by Bill McCleery, quotes Gregory, but identifies her as just another parent of a Decatur student. I am sure McCleery could not have been informed of her day job as Stinson's mouthpiece. If he had known, he would have either tagged her with her job title, or found another parent to interview. McCleery's article was a well rounded piece looking at the effect of the "don't drink and drive" message given to teens, and how that message is damaged when role models get caught doing it. While MSD Decatur Township's Don Stinson's recent arrest for drunk driving was the main example, he was not the only one. McCleery didn't just phone this story in. He interviewed experts in the field, found this 'parent' to interview during the Christmas break, and pulled together a multi-faceted report on the issue.

He quotes Gregory thusly:

Furthermore, Dean-Mooney [national President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving] said, when such incidents occur, that's when parents have to be especially vigilant.

Robin Gregory, a parent in Decatur Township, agrees.

"The kids are watching to see what happens," said Gregory, 45. "Parents have to reinforce that you need to behave responsibly. It's dinner-table conversation."

The issue came to the fore again earlier this month when Decatur Township Superintendent Donald Stinson was arrested in Hendricks County.

Gregory and her husband, Todd, respect the job Stinson has done as superintendent. They have told their children that even good people sometimes make mistakes.

"None of us is perfect," she said. "But as a parent, certainly the burden is on us to set an example. If we're going to drink in front of our children, we can't drink and drive."

Telling part of the truth is the hallmark of the Stinson regime. Gregory crossed a real line when she failed to identify her position within the District. A line with real consequences to her future credibility.

Reposting Ogden Blog: "Decatur Superintendent Arrested For DUI; Does Lying Matter?"

Yesterday, Paul Ogden, author of the OgdenOnPolitics blog, posted about Stinson's statements to the police on the night of his arrest. I reprint it here with Paul's permission:

The city, particularly the southwest portion of the county, is abuzz over the recent arrest of Decatur Township Superintendent Don Stinson for DUI. The Star reports:

Decatur Township Schools Superintendent Donald Stinson expressed remorse and regret Monday, a day after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Plainfield.

"I made a terrible error in judgment," Stinson said Monday in a telephone interview with The Indianapolis Star. "I've embarrassed myself. Even worse, I've embarrassed my family and friends and have unnecessarily brought negative attention to our district."

Decatur School Board President Dale Henson said board members would discuss sanctions against Stinson tonight during the board's regular meeting. Stinson was not suspended Monday.

Stinson, 60, was driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 when an officer stopped his pickup truck on Ind. 267 near Stafford Road at 1:42 a.m. Sunday, according to a Plainfield Police Department report.

Police arrested Stinson on initial charges of drunken driving and public intoxication, the report said.

Officer Michael Pigman saw Stinson drive a 2008 Chevrolet Tacoma over a curb and weave across the lane markers before he pulled the vehicle over, the report said.

Stinson smelled of alcohol and initially told the officer he was returning from a Walmart and had consumed a beer. Later he admitted drinking two glasses of wine at one tavern and two more beers at another, the report said.

...

To see the rest of the article click here.

It's unfortunate that the claims of drivers arrested for DUI regarding how much alcohol was consumed are never challenged by reporters. Stinson tested at .12 which he said was based on drinking two glasses of wine and two beers. BS.

If Stinson drank those two glasses of wine and two beers in a one hour period, his BAC would probably only be at .06. If he didn't drink that fast and he spent three hours consuming those two beers and two glasses of wine, he would have only been at .02.

Stinson would have had to drank at least 10 glasses of wine or beers over a three hour period to get to .12. Stinson clearly has not told the truth. Does that matter?

Note: I used the drink wheel to measure BAC. That can be found here.

IndyStar Reports on Stinson Arrest, Recent Penalties To Others

IndyStar reporter, Vic Ryckaert, reported on the weekend arrest of Decatur Schools Superintendent, Don Stinson, in today's paper. Of particular interest was Ryckaert's addition of a list of punishments meted out to other educators for the same offence. He reports:

-- Former Fall Creek Valley Middle School Principal James C. Joiner was arrested twice in 2008 on drunken-driving charges. He resigned and was sentenced to a year on probation.

-- Martinsville Schools Superintendent Ron Furniss was arrested and charged with drunken driving in March 2009 after visiting several Central Indiana restaurants and clubs. Furniss was suspended as superintendent and given other penalties. He was barred from using a district vehicle for 60 days and was ordered to enter an alcohol treatment program at his own expense and submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

-- Carmel Middle School Principal Denise Jacobs was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in January 2009 after a Fishers police officer saw her car weaving on the road. She was suspended without pay for a week and later voluntarily stepped down as principal. Jacobs pleaded guilty and received a $400 fine, had her license suspended for 90 days and received one year's probation.

-- Fishers High School Principal Scott Syverson was stopped by police in December 2007 after attending a party at the home of then-Hamilton Southeastern High School Principal Concetta Raimondi. Syverson was charged with drunken driving a few weeks later, and he resigned as principal in February 2008.

Ryckaert notes that Stinson has not been suspended. He also recaps Stinson's changing story from the arresting officer's report:

Stinson smelled of alcohol and initially told the officer he was returning from a Walmart and had consumed a beer. Later he admitted drinking two glasses of wine at one tavern and two more beers at another, the report said.

The Decatur School Board meets at 5:30 pm tonight in Executive Session, which they always schedule. The agenda was created on December 9, before Stinson's arrest. The Board could take this opportunity to actually use an executive session for the legally allowed purpose mentioned in the notice, and discuss Stinson's suspension without pay or his removal. The Regular Meeting of the Board follows at 7:00 pm.

WRTV Reporters On Top Of Stinson Arrest

WRTV, Channel 6, reporters Jack Rinehart and Rick Hightower, filed the most complete reports last night on the drunk driving and public intoxication arrest of MSD Decatur Township Superintendent, Don Stinson. Rinehart reported on the arrest and Hightower had an exclusive interview with Stinson.

Hightower reports that "The Decatur Township School Board meets Tuesday night, but board members told Stinson they won't take any action until his case goes to court and formal charges are filed."

Since Stinson admits to drunk driving, I don't know why the Board is waiting.

More Details on Stinson's Arrest Emerge

Channel 6 has an updated report posted on their website. In part it says:

According to a police report, Stinson was pulled over at 1:45 a.m. after Officer Michael Pigman saw his vehicle swerving on State Road 267.

"I could smell the odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the driver's person, and his eyes were bloodshot," Pigman said in the police report.

Police said Stinson admitted being at Bubbaz Bar and Grill and another bar earlier in the evening.

Pigman said Stinson failed field sobriety tests and that his blood-alcohol content was 0.12 in a portable breath test.

Stinson told the officer that he had been drinking more frequently since his wife of 39 years left him unexpectedly.

Edited to add: WISH-TV also has a story on their website.

Decatur Superintendent, Don Stinson, Arrested

Don Stinson, Superintendent of MSD Decatur Township, was arrested this weekend for driving under the influence. This according to a WRTV, channel 6 web posting . Stay tuned and check out the 5:00 broadcast.

MSD Decatur Township Mistaken About Its Ownership of Land in River Run

Amy Hillenburg, editor and reporter at the Mooresville-Decatur Times, has a piece in Saturday's edition entitled "Resident wonders whose land is it anyway?" (you will need a subscription to view). The article centers around a claim by the MSD Decatur Township that it owns land that River Run residents had been told was their common area.

Given my role in land use issues here in Decatur Township, Hillenburg asked me about this situation. Information was still evolving in the last few days and even hours before the article went to press.

Bottom line - the school district is mistaken when it claims to own this common area.

First a little background. The River Run subdivision was zoned and developed by Crossmann Communities. Eventually, the Crossmann company was bought by Beazer Homes. River Run extends from Epler Avenue on the north to Mills Road on the south and from Mann Road on the east to the Old Mill Park subdivision on the west. In 1998, Crossmann and the district did a land swap - 14 acres then owned by Crossmann that had extensive Mann Road frontage was swapped for 14 acres then owned by the district that had frontage on Epler Avenue. This exchange gave the district a second entrance for what became the Decatur Intermediate School, and it gave River Run a wider northern area, more suitable for development. In 1999 these swapped acres were rezoned to the appropriate land use categories through petition 99-Z-32. This was all before Don Stinson became Superintendent.

Since then the new acres in River Run were platted and built. Common areas are scattered throughout the development, but the one in question is about 1.5 acres and abuts the southwest corner of the Intermediate School property and is on the north side of the area where Dollar Run Lane, Sweet River Drive and Dollar Forge Lane all converge.

The district claims that they own this common area. But, all documents obtained fromt the City differ with that conclusion.

Lets start with the Assessor's records. Greg Bowes, Marion County Assessor, tells me that his records show the legal owner to be the River Run Homeowners Association and that the last transaction involving that property was a transfer of ownership from Crossmann Community Partners to the HOA in 2004.

I also made inquiries of staff in Division of Planning, Department of Metropolitan Development. One particularly helpful piece of information was provided to me by Linda Ahlbrand, Principal Planner II, who generated a GIS layered map of the area. I have uploaded it to Google Docs (click here to view) and there is a smaller version below.

The northern end of the River Run subdivision is shown, along with the school property and some abutting properties. The green shaded area is the common area parcel that is in dispute. The red-striped areas are the two 14-acre parcels that were swapped in 1998 and rezoned in 1999. The red-striped areas were generated by the computer, based upon the legal description of the property provided for the rezoning. As you can see, the bulk of the common area was owned by Crossmann even before the land swap. The little spike on the north side of the common area was transferred to Crossmann due to the land swap.

At this point it is clear to me that this common area is owned by the River Run HOA and not the school district. If the district continues to make claims on its ownership, then it needs to prove the ascertain. But, I believe they are simply mistaken.

[August 31, 2010 - edited to add - in speaking with a neighbor in this area, it is clear that the property being discussed is not this 1.5 acre common area. Rather it is a 5 or more acre area to the north that lies between the homes in River Run and a creek or stream that runs through the school property. Why the school district thinks that this is linked to the land swap is not clear at all, as this property would have been zoned for school use and owned by the district well before, during, and after the swap. In addition, the district could not sell or transfer for free, any property it owned unless two independent appraisals determined its value at zero dollars. It is difficult to imagine that any valid appraisal would determine that a 5 plus acre parcel, with frontage on a busy street, is zero. Nor, it is clear that the district could preselect the buyer of such a property. Below is a map of the area. The 5 acre parcel is the land laying between the homes, which I highlighted with a red line, and the blue line that denotes a stream.

-- end edit]

Decatur School District Could Have Acted Responsibly

There is that old chestnut, "When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging". It seems the MSD Decatur Township School Board and Superintendent hold to a different adage - "You can't dig a hole deep enough".

Last week the annual financial report of the school district was published in the Mooresville-Decatur Times. These reports are required to contain specific information so that the public has an opportunity to follow the broad financial health and expenditures of their local district. For some information, this report covers the last calendar year of 2009, and other information is reported for the last school year, ended June 30, 2010.

From that report we can see that the district took in $95 million dollars in revenue during 2009, but spent "only" $83 million. This left a net cash flow of nearly $12 million. If you recall from a post the other day (see "Decatur Superintendent and School Board Abuse the Public Trust" and "More on Decatur's Loan") the District had an outstanding $23 million tax anticipation warrant at the end of 2009. They had been taking out tax anticipation warrants since 2007, but paying only the interest on these loans, according to the Department of Local Government Finance. Each year or thereabouts, they received property tax dollars that should have gone to pay off that year's loan. Instead they spent the money and floated a new loan.

During 2009 they received at least $18 million in property tax proceeds. They should have paid off the lion's share of that outstanding tax anticipation warrant. Instead they spent $6 million on other things - and extended the loan into mid-2010. Even at the end of 2009, they had $12 million that could have made a big dent in the tax anticipation warrant. They chose not to pay even half of that loan, when they clearly had the money.

They have been consistently spending millions of dollars of money they knew should be used to pay off the outstanding short term loans. What have they been spending all these millions of dollars on?

Now we are saddled with a $19 million four-year loan that they "hope to pay off as soon as possible". According to the DLGF, the loan can only be repaid from operating funds now. This means roughly $5 million less each year for teachers and class size will grow once again to satisfy their inability to pay off a loan when it was due.

Meanwhile, they gave 5 retiring administrators nearly a million dollars in parting gifts that were not contractual obligations and clearly violated board policy (see "Decatur School Board Pulls Superintendent's Arse Out of the Fire" and "Decatur Administrator Severance Packages in Contradiction of Board Policy"). That's some of the money that should have been used to pay down or off the tax anticipation warrant.

Take a look at the supposed administrative cuts. All have been replaced or will soon be. Jeff Baer had his replacement on board in January. Janet Larch has been replaced. Dave Rather, Pat Jones, Gary Pellico, and Candace Baer will all be back under contract after sitting out a month so they don't violate the pension abuse laws. The two assistant principal positions at the High School that were supposedly cut, have been filled by, I am told, two folks without administrative licenses. Maybe Superintendent Stinson doesn't hold that license in as much esteem as the Department of Education. Lisa Cook is back at her old desk in the Central Office.

While pretending to cut all of these administrative positions, Stinson is slowly ballooning the numbers back to where they were. These are ongoing expenses that we simply cannot afford. Remember how we needed to cut $9 million from this year's budget? $3 million in a one time move, and $6 million permanent cuts? It would seem that the only significant monetary cuts we have are the 23 teachers who retired. Assuming top of the scale salaries for those teachers, we are looking at roughly $2.5 million savings - nowhere near where we were told we needed to be.

Years of spending money that should have paid off debt, pretending to cut administrator positions, lavishing more money on supposedly retiring administrators, filling all of those positions yet again and ballooning our budget once again - dig that hole, dig that hole, dig that hole. The folks running MSD Decatur Township are more than reckless. And, we are left holding the bag.