When Andrés Alonso announced his resignation as Baltimore school system CEO in May, he failed to give 90 days’ notice as outlined in his contract. The school board chose not to penalize him, and Alonso was able to cash out “unused vacation, sick, and personal leave days” for nearly $150,000.
If that amount makes you want to cuss, you’re not alone.
As reported in the Sun, Audrey Spalding, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and an expert on superintendent contracts, called the figure “surprising” and symptomatic of a contract that was lucrative “to the point of being irresponsible.”
Neil Duke, who as former chair of the school board was largely responsible for negotiating Alonso’s current contract, disagrees. He maintains that the terms (which made Alonso the second-highest-paid superintendent in Maryland, by the way) were appropriate given the demands of the job and the importance of “retaining the best possible leader.”
And to that end, it worked. Despite being two years shy of completing his current contract, Alonso’s six years on the job eclipses the tenures of previous Baltimore schools chiefs as well as the national average for superintendents in urban districts.
So whaddyasay? An irresponsible use of tapayer money, or a small price to pay for a competent superintendent?
