School District Struggles Financially, Superintendent Earns High Salary
CHICAGO (CBS) -- $400,000 in salary and benefits! That's what the Calumet City School Superintendent earns even though the district struggles financially.
CBS 2's investigator Pam Zekman has been asking at school board meetings for months why the board approved such a lucrative deal for Supt. Troy Paraday. Could it be because three members have relatives on the district's payroll?
"Well that creates a real huge conflict of interest," said Ted Dabrowski, of the Illinois Policy Institute. "When you have board members who have family members working at the school district and at the same time they are in charge of the pay of the superintendent."
Board member Nick Valle's ex-wife Mary makes $68,000 as an Assistant Engineer. His son Justin makes $38,440 as a custodial engineer. And his daughter Nicole $21,202 as a reading aide.
Board member Barbara Crull's brothers Dwight and Jim are resource officers earning $32,330 and $98,428.
And Board member Guy Eveland's wife Sharon makes $33,072 as a food service coordinator.
"It really begs the question in a district so small of only 1200 kids, how Mr. Paraday became the highest paid superintendent in the state," Dabrowski said.
In 2012, a five year deal paid Paraday $194,940 a year before benefits. But a year later, a new "retirement agreement" gave him a $50,000 raise with annual 6 percent increases.
"What we know from these massive salary increases is that they fuel massive pensions in the future," Drabowski said.
The Illinois Policy Institute estimates Paraday's pension will start at about $300,000. John Klingner, a researcher with the Illinois Policy Institute used the formula the retirement system uses to calculate pensions and estimated that, "by the time he reaches his life expectancy he should earn over $500,000 a year."
To get some answers about Paraday's contract and all the relatives on the payroll, we went back to the board.
CBS 2's investigative reporter Pam Zekman asked if the fact that three board members have relatives on the payroll that are getting salaries that total $290,000 a year, affect their decision on how to vote on Paraday's pay and benefits. They declined to answer and left the room to go into executive session.
In a written statement, the Calumet City District 155 attorney Joseph Perkoski defends the salary and benefits in Paraday's contract saying he holds down two jobs as district superintendent and business manager. And he said there are no laws or regulations that prohibit board members' relatives from holding jobs in the district.
Perkoski also said, in a written statement, that hiring recommendations are made by other supervisors to the superintendent, who then presents them for board approval and three of the relatives were hired prior to Paraday's appointment as District Superintendent. Employee salary increases are dictated by a collective bargaining agreement, if applicable, or recommendations from the employee's direct supervisor, Perkoski said.
Any conflict of interest allegation "presupposes conditions that do not exist at the District."
