Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A temp job that pays $500-a-day

Not everyone is suffering during the current recession.

The Reading Eagle reports that David H. Robbins, former superintendent of the Daniel Boon School District, has been hired as interim superintendent for the Wyomissing School District.

Robbins will be paid $500 a day for at least six months. The board can extend his contract while it looks for a permanent replacement for Helen Larson, who resigned effective Feb. 1, from her $145,000-a-year job.

Who in their right mind walks away from a $145,000-a-year job? Larson was halfway through a four-year contract. And who in their right mind pays somebody $500-a-day to be a caretaker?

Oh, I forgot. It's easy to spend other people's money.

As part of her going-away present, Larson will collect her full salary for six more months. Where else can you get paid for not working? Larson and her husband will also have their health insurance paid by the school district until June, 30, 2010, the date her contract was due to expire, the newspaper reports.

Six months salary and full medical coverage. I'd be taking that around-the-world cruise if I were in Larson's shoes.

I have nothing against Robbins or Larson. Who can blame them for taking advantage of a system that allows administrators to strike it rich? I blame the school board for being poor stewards of our tax dollars.

There's nothing unique about Wyomissing's situation. The going rate for "interim superintendents" is $500-a-day. Administrators typically get all sorts of perks when they leave jobs. But six months salary and two years of health coverage? Isn't that excessive when you're asking taxpayers to pick up the cost?

It's just frustrating when you have so many people suffering (75,000 job cuts announced in the past week alone) while others make out so well.

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