General of Darkness
28th January 2011, 01:05 PM
But what about the children?
Wayne superintendent's $1M retirement package creates storm
10:08 PM, Jan. 27, 2011 | 156Comments
Wayne Township Schools Superintendent Terry Thompson received a retirement package worth more than $1 million. / Provided by Shank Public RelationsTwitterFacebookShare
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Written by
Bill McCleery Filed Under
Communities
West Marion County
Related Links
Review pay for area school superintendentsA reminder for IPS chief: It's not your district
In 2007, the Wayne Township School Board and then-Superintendent Terry Thompson agreed to a renegotiated contract that provided a generous retirement package for whenever Thompson decided to step down.
But it wasn't until this month that board members realized just how lucrative that deal was, to the tune of more than $1 million.
Thompson, 64, who retired in December after 15 years with the district, already has received more than $800,000 of his retirement deal, which included a year's base pay at more than $225,000, as well as contract provisions that kicked in hundreds of thousands more.
But that's not all.
The contract also created the position of superintendent emeritus -- a position that has been paying Thompson $1,352 a day since his retirement to advise his successor, among other duties. That amount, over the 150 days laid out in the contract, would pay him more than $200,000 -- bringing the total to more than $1 million.
In addition, the contract called for one other perk -- a onetime $15,000 stipend for "retirement planning."
On Thursday, the board issued a statement asking Thompson to resign from the superintendent emeritus position, but it's unclear whether the board can force him to do so -- or reclaim any of the money in the contract.
"It's just a terribly difficult time because Terry Thompson did terrifically wonderful things for Wayne Township," said board member Shirley Deckard, who was not on the board in 2007.
Five of her colleagues, however, were on the board at the time. They either were not able to be reached for comment Thursday or deferred comment to the district spokeswoman.
Thompson did not return calls made to his home Thursday.
A call placed to Jon Bailey -- the school district's attorney at the time the contract was renegotiated -- was met with a recording that his voice mailbox was full.
Mary McDermott-Lang, the district's spokeswoman, said board members signed off on the provisions of the contract when it was reopened at Thompson's request in 2007. But she said they did so without full knowledge of the information tucked into lengthy documents that she said Thompson asked them to approve at several different meetings.
The rest.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110128/LOCAL1804/101280341/Wayne-superintendent-s-1M-retirement-package-creates-storm
Wayne superintendent's $1M retirement package creates storm
10:08 PM, Jan. 27, 2011 | 156Comments
Wayne Township Schools Superintendent Terry Thompson received a retirement package worth more than $1 million. / Provided by Shank Public RelationsTwitterFacebookShare
Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Facebook Twitter Newsvine Buzz up!FarkIt EmailPrintAAA
Written by
Bill McCleery Filed Under
Communities
West Marion County
Related Links
Review pay for area school superintendentsA reminder for IPS chief: It's not your district
In 2007, the Wayne Township School Board and then-Superintendent Terry Thompson agreed to a renegotiated contract that provided a generous retirement package for whenever Thompson decided to step down.
But it wasn't until this month that board members realized just how lucrative that deal was, to the tune of more than $1 million.
Thompson, 64, who retired in December after 15 years with the district, already has received more than $800,000 of his retirement deal, which included a year's base pay at more than $225,000, as well as contract provisions that kicked in hundreds of thousands more.
But that's not all.
The contract also created the position of superintendent emeritus -- a position that has been paying Thompson $1,352 a day since his retirement to advise his successor, among other duties. That amount, over the 150 days laid out in the contract, would pay him more than $200,000 -- bringing the total to more than $1 million.
In addition, the contract called for one other perk -- a onetime $15,000 stipend for "retirement planning."
On Thursday, the board issued a statement asking Thompson to resign from the superintendent emeritus position, but it's unclear whether the board can force him to do so -- or reclaim any of the money in the contract.
"It's just a terribly difficult time because Terry Thompson did terrifically wonderful things for Wayne Township," said board member Shirley Deckard, who was not on the board in 2007.
Five of her colleagues, however, were on the board at the time. They either were not able to be reached for comment Thursday or deferred comment to the district spokeswoman.
Thompson did not return calls made to his home Thursday.
A call placed to Jon Bailey -- the school district's attorney at the time the contract was renegotiated -- was met with a recording that his voice mailbox was full.
Mary McDermott-Lang, the district's spokeswoman, said board members signed off on the provisions of the contract when it was reopened at Thompson's request in 2007. But she said they did so without full knowledge of the information tucked into lengthy documents that she said Thompson asked them to approve at several different meetings.
The rest.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110128/LOCAL1804/101280341/Wayne-superintendent-s-1M-retirement-package-creates-storm