Sep 24, 2021

Allentown To Pay Dearly For New Superintendent


Allentown School District has stepped up dearly by giving the new school superintendent a salary($230,000) beyond the average taxpayer's dreams. It is  probably beyond the new superintendent's dreams also, because it exceeds what his superiors were earning back in Ohio. 

School board member Phoebe Harris defended the salary because of the years of systemic racism. She believes that we are paying up for the best. Mr. Stanford may turn out to be the best, but needless to say that should be determined by performance and longevity, not proclamation. Sorry to report that the board's decision was unanimous.

On the bright side, for both reason and taxes, former school board member Bob Smith Jr., (who is running again for his old position), criticized the starting salary as ridiculous. 

ADDENDUM: This morning, when this post was placed on an Allentown issues group, it created quite a controversy. An Allentown activist declared that the title was a slap to the face of every black person in Allentown. The premise of the post was that the new unproven superintendent was being paid or overpaid an incredibly high salary. The genesis of the early morning quippy title was the school director citing systemic racism in the discussion defending the salary. I hope that black readers take the title as unintentionally insensitive,  as opposed to an intended slap. 
UPDATE 3:46: State Rep Mikey Schlossberg decided to join the fray and accuse me of racism. I can only hope that if he writes such a resolution, that he only votes on it once. In the back and forth, he didn't acknowledge my comments about his ghost voting.
UPDATE 9/25/21: I modified the post title to end the distraction from the salary issue.  If the new super works out, how much will they have to pay him at the contract renewal? How much will it cost for parity in the administration office?

Phoebe Harris shown above in 2017

7 comments:

  1. The salary should have been tied to results. This seems to be pay now and hope for the best. Probably the highest government salary in the valley.

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  2. Salary should always be tied to results of the individual effort and work. What kind of bullshit is this??? Just more way to take tax payers money and not improving or helping the district. Thus is a joke to all of us. Scam

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  3. Michael-
    It is highly offensive that you have framed your discontent with the salary of the new superintendent around race and racism. I wonder what your argument might have been if it had been a white man being offered that salary? To tie your argument and remarks to reparations is horrible. The systematic oppression and inequitable treatment of our fellow community members is reprehensible. Women and BIPOC leaders are paid significantly less than white men in similar roles in this country. And you are unfortunately wrong about slavery being present in the Lehigh Valley. Census records indicate otherwise as well as a vast number of indentured servants "aka enslaved persons". Our area was founded by William Allen who transported the enslaved in and out of our region. Slavery through human trafficking's still exists today in the Lehigh Valley. The issue of what you believe is an inflated salary is secondary to your intentional and offensive use of slavery and reparations. This post should be taken down and you should offer the community an apology for these offensive remarks.

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  4. unknown@1:23, as noted in the addendum, the title was insensitive, but not the post. Harris raised the race issue, and my quip was in response. On facebook a teacher complained that it was tiring to be accused of racism. Phoebe Harris said she was referring to the system, not the personnel, even though the previous superintendent was also black. My hope is that the students don't wallow in victimization. They don't need school board members piling chips on their shoulders.

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  5. This is all about PC and Teacher Unions. These superintendents all 'have a plan' to fix everything. Most have PhD's in teaching - how hard is it to get liberal arts degrees - not very hard.

    My town (Minneapolis) has had a never ending string of supers - many don't last more than a year. We even paid one to quit. It's almost mandatory to have African American.

    We homeschooled back in 1990. My advice is if you care about your kids, get them out of 'government schools.'

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  6. Taking all skin color out of this, if you look at the last few Supers, including the white one who skedaddled to Philly, all. of them left with their pockets full of money before their contract was up. I have a family member teaching in the ASD, and I know she funds her own classroom supplies, and isn't rich. It is a slap that the board rewards administrators while looking down on the rank and file. As for Phoebe, under her logic, to even past inequality out, white teachers should be paid less than non white teachers for now on. I wonder how that would go over? Be careful what precedent you set, it will come back to bite you in the ass. Makes me appreciate living in the Parkland School district, where they really believe all homeowners have trees in their back yards full of $100 bills.
    On the Schlossberg front, it is not constructive to trade insults. All I am saying is stick to the core issue and keep and broad view of the overall situation, while ignoring the urge to use personal digs. That tact undermines reasonable dialogue. Even if Mike or any of his crew does, (and they are mostly good reasonable folks, so I doubt they engage in such antics) keep the high ground and stay on topic. Respect does matter.

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