SouthHighSucks.com > News Archive >

WASTEFUL SPENDING PATROL--After completing an audit requested by the Star Tribune, MN State Auditor Patricia Anderson concluded that the first year of newly-hired Minneapolis Superintendent Thandiwe Peebles' contract will cost the district a whopping $215,602, not including fringe benefits! Peebles, who made just over $100,000 in Cleveland, will now get a salary of $163,500, which will go up by about $5,000 per year of the 3-year contract--plus $52,000 per year in additional compensation, and even more cash for fringe benefits.

But that's not all. For example, Peebles is slated to get reimbursed for "reasonable and necessary" expenses for her move from Cleveland, as well as dues for "professional and civic groups." Plus, the district will pay for equipment for Peebles' new home office. And there's no cap on those expenses.

On Vacation...For a Month (or more!)

Unlike the average taxpayer, who gets little or no vacation time, Peebles will be getting 37 days of paid vacation for the first year of her contract, and 40 days a year for the remainder of the contract. Of course, greedy superintendents don't actually use those vacation days. Instead, they cash them out for big bucks when they quit to take a better-paying gig elsewhere. And why should Peebles use up her valuable vacation days, anyway? She has 19 sick days this year, and 23 per year from 2005-2007, and five sick days per year can be used as "personal leave days."

In any event, Peebles will be limited to carrying over "just" 30 vacation days per year--but that still means that at the end of the current contract, Peebles could have saved up 90 vacation days and cash them in for 90 days worth of salary--nearly $60,000. As if that isn't bad enough, if Peebles doesn't work out and the board allows her contract to expire in 2007, Peebles gets at least half a years' salary in severance pay--$80,000+! Add that to the potential saved vacation time and Peebles could get a $140,000+ golden parachute for doing a lackluster job.

Illegal Contract Provisions

Despite the fact that the school board is clearly spending taxpayer money with reckless abandon, State Auditor Anderson said that there's only a couple of instances where the contract actually violates the law.

For instance, the auditor's office has stated that government employees may be paid a monthly auto allowance or they can be paid per mile, but not both. The contract authorizes a $700 monthly payment for Peebles for her driving within the city, plus additional payments for driving outside Minneapolis city limits. J. Dennis O'Brien, an outside lawyer who helped draft the contract, says that the district will comply with this law.

Another objectionable portion of the contract put taxpayers on the hook for Peebles' dues for "professional and civic groups," including the Rotary Club. While the auditor doesn't object to dues reimbursement, she said schools have no authority to join the Rotary or chambers of commerce, and she cited a 2003 attorney generals' opinion. Lawyer O'Brien disagrees with that assessment.

A Lack of Transparency and Accountability

But for the most part, the auditor's hands are tied, and all she can do is make non-binding recommendations--and her chief recommendation is for more transparency. In her report, she stated that "school boards should have public discussions about all aspects of superintendent compensation prior to approval by the board so that the public knows the full exposure to taxpayers." That sounds reasonable, right? But Minneapolis School Board Member Audrey Johnson said that the district can't involve the public in contract negotiations--which essentially means "shut up and leave us alone, because we know what's best for you and your money."

But while Johnson is trying to justify away objections to the contract, some of her colleagues have objected to the fact that they didn't get to see the proposed contract until three hours before the July 20, 2004 board meeting where they voted to approve the contract. Not only that, but no one got a clause-by-clause explanation of the contract before the vote--and surprise, surprise, unlike most board meetings, this particular board meeting wasn't broadcast on the district's radio station, KBEM 88.5 FM. Attorney O'Brien recommended against any modification of the contract for clarity--which isn't surprising since he was paid $190 per hour to work on it, and I bet he didn't want to anger his benefactors by slowing or stopping the passage of the contract as-is with no public input.

Overall, A Highly Questionable Contract

All of this calls into question the reasonableness of Peebles' contract. For example, could we have paid her less? Could we have got another applicant to accept a lower salary? And, if the contract was reasonable, then why was it hidden from the public until it was too late for discussion or debate?

Of course, we'll never know the answers to these questions--but we do know that as taxpayers, we need to stop getting scammed.

But it won't be easy. The usual suspects are already defending this bad-deal contract. Board Member Audrey Johnson told the Star Tribune that "being superintendent is an extremely stressful job...if we're going to get good people to do this, we're going to have to pay them more money." Yeah, well, I'd submit to Johnson that we've been getting greedy people rather than good people, but she probably wouldn't listen.--Dr. Vinny, Founder & Publisher