Dive Brief:
- Bellwood School District, about 15 miles west of Chicago, has given its superintendent costly perks, allowed nepotism in hiring and spent tens of thousands reimbursing travel expenses for the superintendent and board members.
- The Chicago Tribune reports Bellwood Superintendent Rosemary Hendricks could get an extra $63,000 of annual pension thanks to a $105,000 payout that, if not repaid by the time her contract is up next year, will be considered compensation and part of Hendricks’ severance package.
- Hendricks’ two daughters and school board president Marilyn Thurman’s two children have been hired by the district, which also spent more than $29,000 on travel expenses and per diem reimbursements for Hendricks and certain board members to attend conferences last year alone.
Dive Insight:
Bellwood is a cash-strapped district that doesn’t have enough money to give kids all the classroom materials they need and extracurricular opportunities they deserve, which makes its spending outrageous to community members and outsiders alike. The question is one of priorities. If teachers can’t order textbooks for their students, why are board members being reimbursed to stay at an expensive Chicago hotel for a conference rather than being asked to save precious dollars and commute the 15 miles in? And why are they offered the opportunity to travel to conferences out-of-state when there are high-quality local options?
Higher education institutions have more often been accused of bloated management and high-priced perks for presidents, which critics say get passed on to students in the form of rising tuition. In Illinois, this very issue spurred legislation limiting the power of college boards to offer massive severance packages. Additional regulation of K-12 districts could be next.