Is that a good example to set for the kids and staff -- especially when the staff is having to give back benefits?
"Superintendents circumvent state pension law" by Deirdre Fernandes | Globe Staff, July 07, 2012
By seeking and winning salary increases, school superintendents across the state have maneuvered around a new law aimed at closing a loophole that had allowed employees to boost their pensions by counting fringe benefits as part of their salary.
The loophole, closed as part of the 2009 pension reform law, was famously employed by former University of Massachusetts president William M. Bulger, who successfully included his housing allowance in his pension calculation, enhancing his retirement pay by $17,000 to $196,000 a year.
The change hit superintendents, among the highest paid public employees, hard, because they can no longer include annuities, insurance payments and travel allowances in their pay to calculate their pension. In the years since, many have sought increases in their base salaries to offset some of what they stood to lose.
Oh, I feel so sorry for them when I don't have s*** for a pension or perks -- and I'm a taxpayer who is paying for theirs!!
But critics of the salary increases say the superintendents are sidestepping the intent of the law...
As the on the front line underlings take cuts.
--more--"
I wonder how many are double-dipping along with the six-figured salaries.
