Stan Geiger

No First Outcry

There has been considerable public outcry over Tulsa Public School’s issuance of pay raises to a select group of “executives” in the midst of an alleged financial crisis. That’s a good thing. But I am disappointed by the lack of public outcry over the first round of reported pay raises in the midst of the same alleged financial crisis.

In the recent case, TPS passed out raises of as much as 30 percent, as much as several thousand dollars per year, to a handful of chair jockeys. The super says the raises aren’t really raises. The raises are really pay bumps created by promotions. He claims the people on the receiving end of the money have been asked to do more, ergo, more money is justifiable.

So, according to the super, you can change a guy’s job title from ‘dude that orders toilet paper’ to ‘director of toilet paper requisitions’ and that guy gets a six grand raise. And/or you can point to a guy in the organization that has been told to do more ass scratching in the course of his “work day” and give him another six grand per year. That’s all perfectly reasonable---even in the face of some losing their jobs completely.

What TPS just did is symptomatic of a larger problem in this country. It runs coast to coast and border to border. It runs through both public and private entities. The special few, the deserving, get the goldmine; everybody else gets the shaft.

But, putting the special few aside, a round of pay raises was reported by KTUL a few days back. Sandwiched in between reports of crisis at TPS came the news of raises for teachers of $400 to $500 per year. And the raises, it appears, ran beyond the classroom teacher and into the ranks of the lower-level administrators, since KTUL reported the raises would cost the district $2.2 million per year.

No public outcry.

Either the district is in a bind or it isn’t. If it is, nobody should be getting a raise. Nobody. But TPS, even while claiming poverty, has passed out raises like Santa throwing candy at kids during a Christmas parade.

As long as I’m on the subject, why is it I’m only hearing about TPS’ financial problems? I mean other school districts are facing the same reductions in state funding, right? If I’m not mistaken, there are 15 public school districts in Tulsa County. I only see reports about the financial struggles at TPS. Why do I not see the same reports about Union, Jenks, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Owasso or Sand Springs?

TPS’ last super made it through two years of a four-year contract before being tossed. Maybe it’s time to consider another early change.

I say that knowing full well it would cost a bundle to bounce him. I mean the current turd-in-charge’s predecessor was given $400,000 on the way out the door. But it might be worth the buyout in the long term.

We should fire the current super. We should replace him with an at-will employee. I see no reason why school superintendents should have contract protection. If you take the job, you do the job. Otherwise, you get fired---without being able to pull the ripcord on a golden parachute.

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