Things that make you go “huh?”

An opinion article at the StarTribune this week outlined one of the many problems that face school districts. St Cloud School District Administrators Union voted 25-1 to reject a school board proposal to end an interesting early-retirement benefit that has local impact also. The union voted to retain the benefit that will pay for medical insurance for district administrators, principals and assistant principals who retire before they are eligible for Medicare until they are 65. That’s a pretty expensive benefit for any taxpayer-funded entity — especially for school districts struggling with unfunded mandates, unstable revenues and restrictions on raising taxes without voter approval.

To bring this closer to home, District 281’s former Superintendent Stan Mack retired last year at age 58 and took advantage of this union benefit. His severance package includes medical insurance coverage for him and his family, for which the 2008-09 premiums equal $29,220 as a portion of his extremely generous package of $215,456.00.

We also learned that Mr. Mack is actively seeking new employment,  and made it to one of the top six applicants for Superintendent of St. Paul School District. This reinforces the question we asked last summer: Did Mr. Mack retire from public service in the school district or did he quit with a platinum parachute?

“Retired” Stan Mack a semi-finalist for St. Paul Schools Superintendent

Nov. 15 updated: the Pioneer Press reported Stan Mack did not make it to the final three picks. That sound you hear is a collective sigh of relief.

We noticed a high hit count this week from online searches about Mack and thanks to a reader we know why. They pointed us to this article in the Star Tribune:

When the board announced semifinalists Wednesday for the job of leading the state’s second-largest district, there was only one out-of-state candidate.

The semifinalists are Elk River Superintendent Mark Bezek, North Branch Superintendent Deborah Henton, recently retired Robbinsdale Superintendent Stan Mack, Deputy Superintendent of the Portland, Ore., schools Charles Hopson, and St. Paul employees Chief Academic Officer Valeria Silva and Chief of Schools Nancy Stachel.

LTE: “Quitters Do Prosper”

Thanks to Todd in Plymouth for a revealing letter to the editor in the Sun-Post:

The recent article in the Sun Post about the “retirement” package for Stan Mack was unbelievable. I write retirement in quotes because Stan Mack did not retire, he quit.

My neighbor retired last September and now works around the house and reads full time. He is not searching, wanting or expecting to find new employment.

We heard for the longest time that Robbinsdale Area Schools needed money to reduce class size to enhance the learning experience. It’s now apparent that Robbinsdale needed money to fund Stan Mack’s “retirement” package.

With the uncertainty on the wall about the levy passing in November, Stan Mack announced his “retirement” to help insure the passage of the levy. He realized that if he was removed from the equation, it had a better chance of passing, and he needed its passage in order to fund his precious “retirement” package.

Once again, even with the voter-approved levy, our students suffer. Money that should go into the system to improve student performance and graduation rates is only siphoned by the exiting superintendent. This is worse than the bonus money provided to Wall Street executives.

I guess quitters do prosper. Not only am I utterly disappointed with Stan Mack, I believe we need to hold the entire School Board accountable for wasting the levy funds on a false retirement. It’s time for an across-the-board change of leadership for Robbinsdale Area Schools.

We’ve heard that he may be getting a job with the state. So even more of our taxes could go to “retired” Stan Mack.

Golden Parachute celebration at Golden Valley Country Club

The MN Sun Post announced our options for saying goodbye to outgoing Superintendent Mack:

The public is invited to attend one or more of three celebrations on Wednesday, May 20, in honor of retiring District 281 Superintendent Stan F. Mack.

Morning celebration: 9 to 11 a.m. in Stan Mack’s office at the Education Service Center, 4148 Winnetka Ave. N., New Hope. Coffee and breads will be served. No charge.

Afternoon celebration: 3 to 5 p.m. in the board room at the Education Service Center, 4148 Winnetka Ave. N., New Hope. Program at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served. No charge.

Evening celebration: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Golden Valley Country Club, 7001 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley. Program at 6 p.m. Cost is $25 per person. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Cash bar. Send reservation and check by May 13, payable to Judy Lund at Robbinsdale Area Schools, 4148 Winnetka Ave. N., New Hope.

Nice venue. While Mack celebrates his golden parachute in style, we common folk might be found celebrating his long-awaited departure down the road at Schuller’s.

Stan Mack: Pay no attention to those pesky opposition facts.

I received this email today from Robbinsdale Schools, addressed from Stan Mack. We took the liberty of linking to factual data from his words…

Election Day is tomorrow!  I appreciate that you have taken the time to understand our refrendum issues and that you share your views with other members of the community.

There has been a huge amount of information about the referendum.  I hope you will remember just a few things and share with those you know:

– Investing in the quality of local public schools is essential if we are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.