Stan Geiger

Dr. Zero: Education Lottery Winner

Dr. Michael Zolkoski, or Dr. Zee, or Dr. Zero, if you prefer, was recently ousted from his position as Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. His leaving was referred to as a "mutual agreement" between the doctor and the school board. In English, he was fired.

This marks, if I'm not mistaken, the fourth time in recent history that an Oklahoma school super has been sent packing. Well, the fourth instance I've heard of, at least.

I'm a little foggy on this one, but I seem to recall a report, about a year ago, of the Catoosa super getting fired because he couldn't seem to master the budgeting process. The district reportedly came up $600,000 short of being able to close out a fiscal year.

Oklahoma City super, John Q. Porter, was sent down the road because he was using the district as his own personal piggy bank, putting in reimbursement requests for everything from first-class airline tickets to cab rides to booze purchases.

Marble City super, Larry Couch, was canned for stealing. He reportedly embezzled a million dollars over 10 years. How he managed to get away with it for 10 years should be of primary interest to every taxpayer.

Now comes Zolkoski, apparently dismissed for plain old garden variety incompetence. Even the Tulsa World called for his head. Dude, a school super has to be pretty darn lame for that to happen. I mean the World badmouthing a public educator is like Rush Limbaugh badmouthing Ronald Reagan.

Zolkoski's demise seems to be tied to his failed experiment called the Tulsa Academic Center---which, it appears, was nothing more than a dumping ground for problem students.

Let's see, take all the bad attitudes in the district and cram them into the same building. Oh yeah, that should work.

The TAC, people should know, was never about kids; it was about money. I'm not solid on all the specifics, but I know state money for school districts is largely based on daily attendance. So, rather than simply sending the problem children home, you throw a sign on a building, call it a school, and stick those warm bodies in it. That way the district still gets paid.

TPS went all the way to Brownsville, Texas to find this guy. He was imported to Tulsa and given a 4-year contract worth over a million dollars. He held the job for 2 years before getting canned. Kind of leaves you scratching your head, don't it?

I noticed Zolkoski choked up while addressing the TV cameras. I don't blame him. Because of his contract, the district handed him a $400,000 check in exchange for his resignation. I've had nary a job that I wouldn't have been more than happy to leave if my boss had been willing to pay me $400,000 to do it. Hell, if I ever got that deal, I'd be downright ecstatic. I would run, not walk, to the door with tears of joy streaming down my cheeks.

Employment contracts for educators need to go, period. Most educators are overpaid for what they do in the first place, and that's bad enough. But to load up an armored car for them when they fail, well, that's beyond silliness.

Meanwhile, I fully expect to see news stories in the coming weeks in which TPS will complain of a lack of funding. Watch for it.

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