Thorns to Pa. school board for throwing taxpayer money away

From the editorial page of The Pottstown Mercury:

THORNS to the Upper Perkiomen School Board for paying out an overly generous retirement package in 2012 to former schools Superintendent Tiimothy Kirby, as noted in a report to the school district by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. DePasquale characterized the package as “the latest example of school boards bestowing superintendents with excessive contractual benefits rather than investing the money into classroom education.” Specifically, he noted Kirby was paid for unused sick time and granted health insurance benefits for himself and his spouse above and beyond what the district paid to the Public School Employees Retirement System. The package was more than $220,000 above the already-generous pension to which retiring superintendents are entitled. Upper Perk is not alone in this habit of treating school superintendents to grandiose contracts. The job is important, to be sure, but boards don’t owe superintendents more than taxpayers can afford.