Big Bucks, Small results

The median income for Colorado Springs is just under $40,000. When most people go to their places of employment, they are expected to "do their jobs." Most people have a measurable way of determining whether they have performed their jobs or not. And most people would not hold their jobs long if those measurements of performance indicated that they were not producing results.

The following are incomes for several top administrators in School District 11. The amounts are inclusive of base salary plus benefits.

2006-2007 $100K earners

Attendance Services: $107,583

Instruction: $190,000 (approx)

Curriculum alignment: $101,547

ARCA: $102,819

CQI: $109,036

Special Ed: $111,226

Athletics: $105,000 (approx)

Superintendent: $251,047

Community Relations: $107,491

Business Services: $196,129

Budgeting: $113,523

Procurement: $100,000 (approx)

Fiscal Services: $103,010

Maintenance & Ops: $110,000 (approx)

Security: $101,589

Transportation: $100,474

Human Resources: $110,000 (approx)

In addition to these amounts, D11's 66 principals earn over $90,000 annually in salary plus benefits.

These salary expenditures for D11's top paid administrators are included in D11's huge 2006-2007 budget. The total budget for the 06-07 school year is $481,050,130. That is almost 1/2 billion for this school year alone! Of that total, approximately $142,600,000 is set aside for capital projects, leaving $339,000,000 to educate kids. In comparison, the budget for the entire city of Colorado Springs is in the neighborhood of $260,000,000.

In light of this massive expenditure of public funds, and in light of the salaries of the District's top paid personnel, one is left to wonder why any of the District's 29,000 students are not being educated sufficiently. One has to wonder how math proficiencies can remain below 20% for minority students and around 30% in 10th grade for white students. Where are the big ideas coming from these high-paid administrators? Where is the leadership?

The D11 community is pumping nearly 1/2 billion dollars into D11 this school year alone. That equates to $16,500 per student when capital funds are included. Removing capital funding from the equation, D11 has the operating funds to spend $11,650 per student per year. Why is the District not approaching 100% proficiency in every area with these budget numbers?

According to county election records, D11 administrators regularly provide financial contributions to school board candidates who support the status quo. There appears to be a fear among these 6-figure earners that they might have to work hard for these large salaries. Instead of taking the lead to provide answers for stagnant performance, these public servants fight change. It's all about living off of public funds while failing to uphold the public trust.

The D11 community needs to know what is happening with 1/2 billion dollars of its money each year. 6-figure salaries demand 6-figure results. The facts show that this is not happening.