Post by gatordog on Oct 16, 2009 21:34:20 GMT -5
Lousville Courier-Journal article. Maybe not the last one on this either, if these reports keep digging.
Greater Clark gets $18,000 in private donations for Daeschner’s salary
By Chris Quay • and Harold J. Adams • October 15, 2009
Private donors have contributed at least $18,000 to an account set up through a local foundation to help pay Greater Clark County Schools Superintendent Stephen Daeschner’s $225,000 annual salary.
But the donors’ names and how much each gave remains a secret, and school district and foundation officials say they aren’t obligated to make them public.
The Courier-Journal filed open-records requests asking the school corporation and the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana for the identities of the contributors to the private portion of Daeschner’s salary and the amounts they gave.
District officials responded that the foundation sent Greater Clark an $18,000 check to the general fund on Sept. 11, but it provided no information about donors and specific amounts.
Mike Waiz, the foundation’s president and CEO, said donor identities and how much they gave are “not public information.”
Daeschner, the former superintendent for Jefferson County Public Schools, was hired by the Indiana school district this spring and started July 1.
When school board members approved Daeschner’s salary — making him one of the state’s highest-paid school chiefs — they agreed that a third of Daeschner’s salary, about $75,000, would come from private contributions to help defray the cost . If those donations fall short, then the school district would have to cover the difference.
To raise the private money, community members set up an account with the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana to accept donations from individuals, businesses and organizations — on the condition they don’t have contracts with the school corporation, said Frank Collesano, Greater Clark’s chief financial officer.
Dale Orem, the founding executive director of the community foundation who is spearheading the fundraising for the superintendent fund, said “at least half” of the $75,000 needed for this year has already been raised. The foundation, established in 1991, is a non-profit organization that collects charitable donations for various causes or organizations.
Daeschner said Wednesday he has no problem with some of his income coming from secret donors.
“The district pays my salary,” he said
Collesano said Daeschner is aware of the amount raised but “hasn’t asked” who contributed.
But Jon Fleischaker, attorney for The Courier-Journal who has long worked for more open government, said keeping the names of contributors secret is ethically, if not legally, wrong.
“I think that when a public official is paid in this manner the public certainly has a right to know who’s paying his salary in order to be able to judge his performance,” Fleischaker said.
He said assurances that funds are not being accepted from people doing business with the district aren’t sufficient.
“What the district is saying is ‘take my word for it.’ And I think the public’s entitled to have real information, instead of the assurance of the public agency.”
Martin Bell, chief operating officer of the school system, said the district has no way of ensuring that donors to the fund aren’t doing business with the district “because we’re not the ones raising the funds.”
Orem said he selectively solicits donations to avoid potential conflicts..
“I have a list of vendors that was given me from the get-go, and I don’t call on those people,” Orem said.
But he said he would accept money from people on the list if they came to him.
“If they wanted to give from the goodness of their heart, yes, I would. But I’m not asking them,” he said.
Orem, who also was a member of a panel of local citizens who met with Daeschner before the superintendent was hired, would not reveal donors’ names — beyond his own.
“I will say that I’ve given,” he said, though he would not say how much.
Relying on private contributions to help cover a public school superintendent’s salary is rare, said Dan Domenech, executive director for the American Association of School Administrators. Generally, he said, it occurs when a school system is trying to attract high-profile candidates.
Former Greater Clark Superintendent Tony Bennett was being paid $140,000 a year when he left to become Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction.
But Daeschner was getting $235,000 at the suburban Chicago school district he left to come to Greater Clark, and was paid $208,315 in his last year with the Louisville school system.
The highest paid Indiana superintendent last school year was Eugene White of the 34,000-student Indianapolis Public School system who received $262,800, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Greater Clark has an enrollment of about 11,000 students.
Sheldon Berman, who replaced Daeschner as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, is paid $270,478, which comes entirely from the district budget.
Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, said he was not aware of any Kentucky school district where the superintendent is paid with private money.
Daeschner was brought in to revitalize the Greater Clark school system — something he has done in his first five months on the job, according to several school board members.
“You wouldn’t believe the atmosphere at Jeff High School,” said board member Christina Gilkey, who had cast the only no vote when Daeschner was hired because she didn’t like the contract.
“There were a whole lot of unanswered questions where the money would come from,” she said. “It was like writing a blank check.”
Gilkey said she felt better about the deal after finding out that Orem was overseeing efforts to raise the money. But still, she said she believes the amount of the salary is “out of line.”
Board member Missy DeArk said she is satisfied with the deal struck with Daeschner.
“Since Dr. Daeschner started on July 1, the initiatives to improve our district’s academic achievement are more than I have seen as a trustee on this school board in three years,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Greater Clark gets $18,000 in private donations for Daeschner’s salary
By Chris Quay • and Harold J. Adams • October 15, 2009
Private donors have contributed at least $18,000 to an account set up through a local foundation to help pay Greater Clark County Schools Superintendent Stephen Daeschner’s $225,000 annual salary.
But the donors’ names and how much each gave remains a secret, and school district and foundation officials say they aren’t obligated to make them public.
The Courier-Journal filed open-records requests asking the school corporation and the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana for the identities of the contributors to the private portion of Daeschner’s salary and the amounts they gave.
District officials responded that the foundation sent Greater Clark an $18,000 check to the general fund on Sept. 11, but it provided no information about donors and specific amounts.
Mike Waiz, the foundation’s president and CEO, said donor identities and how much they gave are “not public information.”
Daeschner, the former superintendent for Jefferson County Public Schools, was hired by the Indiana school district this spring and started July 1.
When school board members approved Daeschner’s salary — making him one of the state’s highest-paid school chiefs — they agreed that a third of Daeschner’s salary, about $75,000, would come from private contributions to help defray the cost . If those donations fall short, then the school district would have to cover the difference.
To raise the private money, community members set up an account with the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana to accept donations from individuals, businesses and organizations — on the condition they don’t have contracts with the school corporation, said Frank Collesano, Greater Clark’s chief financial officer.
Dale Orem, the founding executive director of the community foundation who is spearheading the fundraising for the superintendent fund, said “at least half” of the $75,000 needed for this year has already been raised. The foundation, established in 1991, is a non-profit organization that collects charitable donations for various causes or organizations.
Daeschner said Wednesday he has no problem with some of his income coming from secret donors.
“The district pays my salary,” he said
Collesano said Daeschner is aware of the amount raised but “hasn’t asked” who contributed.
But Jon Fleischaker, attorney for The Courier-Journal who has long worked for more open government, said keeping the names of contributors secret is ethically, if not legally, wrong.
“I think that when a public official is paid in this manner the public certainly has a right to know who’s paying his salary in order to be able to judge his performance,” Fleischaker said.
He said assurances that funds are not being accepted from people doing business with the district aren’t sufficient.
“What the district is saying is ‘take my word for it.’ And I think the public’s entitled to have real information, instead of the assurance of the public agency.”
Martin Bell, chief operating officer of the school system, said the district has no way of ensuring that donors to the fund aren’t doing business with the district “because we’re not the ones raising the funds.”
Orem said he selectively solicits donations to avoid potential conflicts..
“I have a list of vendors that was given me from the get-go, and I don’t call on those people,” Orem said.
But he said he would accept money from people on the list if they came to him.
“If they wanted to give from the goodness of their heart, yes, I would. But I’m not asking them,” he said.
Orem, who also was a member of a panel of local citizens who met with Daeschner before the superintendent was hired, would not reveal donors’ names — beyond his own.
“I will say that I’ve given,” he said, though he would not say how much.
Relying on private contributions to help cover a public school superintendent’s salary is rare, said Dan Domenech, executive director for the American Association of School Administrators. Generally, he said, it occurs when a school system is trying to attract high-profile candidates.
Former Greater Clark Superintendent Tony Bennett was being paid $140,000 a year when he left to become Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction.
But Daeschner was getting $235,000 at the suburban Chicago school district he left to come to Greater Clark, and was paid $208,315 in his last year with the Louisville school system.
The highest paid Indiana superintendent last school year was Eugene White of the 34,000-student Indianapolis Public School system who received $262,800, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Greater Clark has an enrollment of about 11,000 students.
Sheldon Berman, who replaced Daeschner as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, is paid $270,478, which comes entirely from the district budget.
Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, said he was not aware of any Kentucky school district where the superintendent is paid with private money.
Daeschner was brought in to revitalize the Greater Clark school system — something he has done in his first five months on the job, according to several school board members.
“You wouldn’t believe the atmosphere at Jeff High School,” said board member Christina Gilkey, who had cast the only no vote when Daeschner was hired because she didn’t like the contract.
“There were a whole lot of unanswered questions where the money would come from,” she said. “It was like writing a blank check.”
Gilkey said she felt better about the deal after finding out that Orem was overseeing efforts to raise the money. But still, she said she believes the amount of the salary is “out of line.”
Board member Missy DeArk said she is satisfied with the deal struck with Daeschner.
“Since Dr. Daeschner started on July 1, the initiatives to improve our district’s academic achievement are more than I have seen as a trustee on this school board in three years,” she wrote in an e-mail.
