[Winona Online Democracy]
Call it the Peebles effect: More school boards are pulling back the fat car
allowances they once offered superintendents.
By Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
When Bill Green took over as Minneapolis school superintendent, drawing a car
allowance was a sore topic.
A $700 per month car allowance for predecessor Thandiwe Peebles turned into
the $11,000 buyout of her Cadillac lease by taxpayers when she was ousted. So
Green's contract gave him the right to claim only mileage for the 1996 Camry
with 190,000-plus miles that he was then driving. But he has gone a
parsimonious step further -- Green hasn't even bothered to collect the mileage
payments that he is due. And he is not alone. Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent
Roger Giroux doesn't claim any mileage. Neither does the Osseo district's Susan
Hintz. More of the state's largest school districts appear to be heeding the
public scolding the state auditor gave them in 2003. Back then, seven of the
10 largest districts in student numbers were paying their superintendents a
flat car allowance. Now only four of the big 10 districts pay their chiefs a
car allowance, and one is dropping that practice this summer. Most of the rest
give mileage payments, and some have dropped even that.
Former State Auditor Pat Anderson called car allowances and other contract
perks a form of back-door compensation. The scrutiny kept up as reporters began
asking her office to review the contracts of new superintendents. Osseo
schools have changed the most. In 2003, the superintendent got a $900 monthly
car allowance. Susan Hintz, who was hired in 2006, gets neither a car allowance
nor mileage, in exchange for a higher salary. "My board wanted it to be
transparent," she said. "This is her salary. This what she gets paid. She
doesn't get anything else." Green said he wasn't trying to make a statement
by not claiming miles in Minneapolis, despite upgrading to a new Camry after he
took the job. "I've got other things to do with my time," he said, explaining
why he passed up claiming mileage. But he was trying to send a message when
he abolished monthly car allowances for senior district staff in favor of
putting in for mileage reimbursement. "It just doesn't make
sense to me," he said about the allowances, citing the district's high share
of students in poverty and its tight budget. Green also has been trying to
tell the Legislature and taxpayers who will vote on a likely class-size
referendum in a year or two that their dollars will be well tended. One
district that hasn't changed is St. Paul. As in 2003, St. Paul stands out among
the 10 largest districts for paying its superintendent an allowance. Meria
Carstarphen gets $1,350 per month, but it covers not only car expenses but also
other job-related costs such as business meals. Her predecessor Pat Harvey
received $1,600 in monthly allowances. Other large districts still paying car
allowances include South Washington County, at $700 per month, and Elk River
and Lakeville, at $600 per month. But Lakeville is switching to mileage
reimbursement in July. Robbinsdale budgets up to $9,000 annually for car,
technology and tuition expenses for its superintendent, but it requires
receipts to claim that. It used to pay a flat allowance. Superintendent Stan
Mack said the current arrangement better reflects his actual costs, because he
tends to drive low-cost vehicles. He uses some of the budget for high-speed
Internet access at home. Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota
Association of School Administrators, said he has noticed a shift toward boards
giving superintendents fewer add-on allowances. But that works only if they're
willing to pay superintendents higher salaries, he said. At the other end of
the spectrum is the St. Louis County school district, the state's largest
geographically. It has seven all-grade schools scattered across 4,201 square
miles. That's several times the size of Rhode Island, and 75 times the size of
the St. Paul district. Superintendent Charles Rick doesn't think he needs an
allowance. The district has a 2005 Impala, purchased used, that he can use when
he needs to visit schools. He shares it with other
district employees.
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