Pay Hefty in School of Hard Knocks
Posted on: Friday, 9 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By Chris Togneri
Former Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent John Thompson was hired as a "corrective superintendent" in Georgia, which pays $285,000 a year.
For John Thompson, the price was right.
Three years after being fired as Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent with six months remaining on his contract, Thompson re-entered the world of school administration last month when he signed on as "corrective superintendent" in Clayton County, Georgia.
The job comes with perks, including a base yearly salary of $285,000, a private car, district-paid contributions to retirement funds, a cell phone, laptop computer, home Internet service, two days off per month to pursue "outside activities," 30 days of paid leave and a security detail "in the event of public controversy," according to his contract.
It comes with baggage, too. The suburban Atlanta school district, with a $600 million annual operating budget and 52,000 students, is on the verge of losing its accreditation.
Thompson is expected to be a panacea, as his title suggests. He has been given just over a year to right a massive -- and sinking -- ship.
Thompson, who was Pittsburgh's first permanent black superintendent, declined to comment for this story.
Education experts said they do not envy his task.
"This is a district that is in turmoil," said Dr. Mark Elgart, CEO of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which has announced it will revoke the district's accreditation Sept. 1 unless major improvements are made. "It's unreasonable to expect anyone to be able to fully address what needs to be done."
Added Joe Cirasuolo, the chief operating officer of the American Association of School Administrators: "That's a very difficult assignment."
Thanks, but no thanks
Increasingly, public schools superintendents are assuming tough roles.
Pressure from parents, public and school board scrutiny; federal benchmarks outlined in No Child Left Behind; and 80-hour work weeks are making the once-revered job of superintendent less desirable to education professionals, industry analysts said.
As a result, fewer qualified candidates apply for such jobs, even as tenures shorten and jobs open up.
"Positions where you would once see 40 to 50 candidates for are lucky to see a dozen now," said Tim Quinn, managing director of the Broad Foundation's Urban Superintendents Academy. "And half of them aren't qualified."
In 2006, nearly one in five school districts in the country was seeking a superintendent, according to the AASA. Although the average tenure is 5.5 years, education analysts said stays in large urban school districts are half that.
"Fifteen or 20 years ago, if you went into a graduate class at a place like Pitt and asked how many of them aspired to be superintendents, 80 percent of the hands would go up," said Dr. William Leary, a retired superintendent and Montgomery County-based consultant on superintendent searches.
"Today, maybe four or five hands would go up," he said. "The job is so stressful."
Money talks
To entice candidates, salaries and compensation packages are getting fatter, Cirasuolo said.
"They're going up, but they're still nowhere near where they should be," he said. "It's going to take a continued increase to get people to change their minds and seek superintendent jobs."
Thompson's contract pays more than most.
The average salary for a superintendent leading a large urban district is about $200,000, according to the AASA. Thompson's yearly salary in Pittsburgh was $187,500.
Robert P. Strauss, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, said the rich contracts still do not compare to similar jobs in the private sector.
"Go to any corporation Downtown, and the guy or gal in charge is going to make a lot more than $285,000," Strauss said. "From the public's perspective -- the private citizen, taxpayer, voter -- that seems like an awful lot of money. ... But moving a school district, which is entirely tenured and entirely unionized, is like moving a big ship. It's hard."
Not everyone approves of the rising salaries, especially if the increases for administrators cut into salary raises for teachers.
"Strong leadership in a school district is very important, but what can't be forgotten is the work force in the schools every day," said John Tarka, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.
"I know of some examples where compensation packages far exceeded the individual's ability, expertise, past performances and qualification," he said.
Job perks
The rising salaries often are tied to lucrative benefits packages, including controversial buyout clauses.
In 2004, Mt. Lebanon Superintendent Margery Sable resigned only a year and a half into her five-year contract. Her departure caused an uproar because, though she resigned, the district bought out the remainder of her contract, giving her $420,000 in unpaid salary, full health benefits for the next six years and up to $5,000 to cover legal fees. School board members refused to explain the buyout, citing legal ramifications.
Lynn Spampinato, former Pittsburgh deputy superintendent for instruction, was placed on administrative leave in October 2006, less than a year after she was hired. Again, board members refused to explain the decision. Spampinato then collected $213,333 as a consultant, producing one 32-page paper on career and technical education in the following 18 months.
When Thompson was fired in 2005, the board paid him $200,000 for the remaining months of his agreement and unused vacation and sick days.
Now some of Thompson's benefits in Georgia are raising eyebrows.
For example, a clause in his contract allows Thompson to make changes in the district even if such moves violate school board policy. Thompson was fired in Pittsburgh by a school board that was sharply divided over his plans to close schools and his ability to boost academic achievement.
Elgart called the provision "highly unusual" because "consistent board policy violations" contributed to the district's losing its accreditation.
"Even by Georgia standards, it is a unique contract," he said.
SACS will revoke Clayton County's accreditation unless the district addresses nine mandates. Asked whether Thompson can live up to expectations and correct the troubled district, Elgart was noncommittal.
"It's too early to tell," he said. "He's only been on the job a week."
(c) 2008 Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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