Not enough transparency
MOUNT CARMEL - A school board member took exception to the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) director's $284,000-a-year pay during a meeting of the Mount Carmel Area School Board.
"It's a rape of the taxpayer," Dr. Raymond Kraynak said at Thursday's meeting.
The CSIU - of which Mount Carmel Area is a member - is too secretive, Kraynak said. There needs to be more transparency; at the very least, a financial oversight committee.
"I think, at the minimum, we need to get together, contact other districts and start from the top down," examining the way the CSIU operates, Kraynak said.
"We need more information before things are finalized," with the CSIU, board director Michael Rovito said.
The $284,000 salary for CSIU Director Robert G. Witten is in addition to his state pension, which could reach $300,000 a year, according to a Jan. 31 article in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise.
Also, the CSIU board has funneled more than $200,000 into another retirement account for him, and his unused sick leave could add as much as $100,000.
Throw in the mix as much as $300,000 in health insurance for Witten and his family after he retires, according to the Press Enterprise. Kraynak produced the article after the board voted to reappoint board member Charles Mannello to a three-year term on the CSIU Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2013.
Mannello has been the Mount Carmel Area representative at the CSIU for the past 14 years.
"I agree with Director (Charles) Porter of Southern Columbia," Kraynak said. Porter had described Witten's pay and benefits as "obscene."
Mannello, however, retorted that Porter had only been on the board for two to three months.
By his own estimation, Porter was on the board for a year and a half. Those 18 months left him "disenchanted" with the way the CSIU operated, Porter said Thursday night by phone.
Kraynak took exception to the amount of money that Witten's getting paid, pointing out that the article cites the fact that the director is making more than Bloomsburg University President David Soltz and state Gov. Ed Rendell - who make $197,500 and $174,914 respectively.
The president of the United States only makes around $400,000, Kraynak said, noting that Barack Obama is the head of a "multi-trillion business - that's trillion with a 'T.'"
"If (Witten's) getting that much, how much are others making?" Kraynak asked.
"We have seven (administrators) making over $100,000," Mannello replied.
Kraynak noted that, according to the Press Enterprise, when the CSIU renewed Witten's contract in September, the extension included an annual raise of no more than 5 percent a year. If Witten mans his post until 2014 and receives the maximum allowable raise each year, his salary would expand to nearly $345,000, according to the Press Enterprise.
Mannello refuted that claim.
"When we renewed (Witten's) contract, there was no raise," Mannello said.
Kraynak asked Mannello who had written Witten's contract; Mannello was at a loss.
"I have no idea who wrote up his contract. No idea," Mannello said.
"And you've been on the board for, what, 14 years?" Kraynak asked.
Kraynak said he would vote no on any motion involving giving money to the CSIU, including the purchase of 2010-11 school calendars from the CSIU, which the board approved. The cost is pro-rated for the various districts; last year, the calendars cost MCA $2,400.
Mannello pointed out that no board is required to purchase services through the CSIU. The annual budgets from the participatory school districts - roughly $7 million - are only a portion of the money utilized by the CSIU.
"We do business (at the CSIU) throughout the U.S.," Mannello said. "They sell themselves. They sell their product," generating more than $100 million in revenue.
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