“... officials who point their finger like a compass points north towards other bloated public salaries in justifying getting theirs, is starting to wear thin. Higher taxes and higher public salaries is not the answer most of us want to hear.” ------------------- Joe Liptow, South Euclid
“Time and time again, important information is kept from the public.” ---------Patricia Checkel, Lyndhurst
Recently, public salary hikes have been scrutinized and challenged. Public officials ferociously defend their often gluttonous appetite for a hefty piece of the taxpayer pie.
The first part of this post contains back-story to help readers/viewers of SEO put into context the circumstances surrounding the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School Superintendent Zelei pay hike, and the fashion in which it was reported to the public.
Troubling is the glaring inconsistency at the Sun Messenger between the gobs of ink used to chronicle the Zelei raise compared with the complete lack of reporting on the proposed $15,000 increase for the Community Center Director in South Euclid.
Under public pressure, the Administration and Council of South Euclid decided to shave away all but $5,000 of the pay increase to the dismay of one councilperson who stated that a mere $5,000 amount was an “insult.”
SEL School Board officials shut down a well attended public meeting with nary a moment's notice when the public caught wind of the truth. Ultimately, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School Board voted 3-2 to go with the $30,000 increase even as the s--t was hitting the fan. If the School board had reduced Mr. Zelei’s raise, would the Sun Messenger have buried the story as they clearly did concerning the Community Center Director salary in South Euclid?
The retiring editor said it best, “The most important paper you get is this one. You can find news about Washington and Baghdad anywhere, but you can only get news about your neighborhood, your schools and your city here.” A local newspaper editor admitting the importance of the role they play in the community and then not delivering is nothing less than shameful.
Please click on individual images below to view full size.
Below is an excerpt from the original article published by the Sun Messenger:
It is recommended to view the following posts and videos in the order of their presentation:
- Hope You're Sitting Down For This One
- Standing By The Proposed Raise
- Modified Raise
- Taxpayers - Watch Your Back
- The Raise Revisited...And More
- 2009 Salaries And So Much More….
- Ordinance 12-07: Mayoral Pay Raise
Click on the link below to view commentary made by readers regarding the above online Plain Dealer story. The comments were captured from Cleveland.com in their entirety and archived by SEO:
Please note: Traditionally, South Euclid Oversight has made a conscious decision to not focus on the South Euclid-Lyndhurst School system. However, the magnitude of a matter such as this does deserve some proper attention. A public records request for the school superintendant’s contract has been made. The information will be posted on SEO when it is received. Thank you to all for your participation.
4 comments:
OH MY GOD!
WHAT A BUNCH OF SPITEFULL,WHINING,CRYING,JEALOUS,
ENVIOUS CRITICS!
ZELEI IS ONLY GETTING THE RAISES THAT HE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IN THE FIRST PLACE.WAKE UP PEOPLE.SURE THE SCHOOL BOARD AND "SLICK WILLIE"
SHOULD HAVE BEEN UPFRONT ABOUT THE FACT THAT HIS "PASSING" ON HIS ANNUAL INCREASES WAS ONLY TO HELP GET THE LEVY PASSED.HE WAS ONLY POSTPONING HIS ANNUAL INCREASES,NOT GIVING THEM UP COMPLETELY.
BLAME THE SCHOOL BOARD,AND VOTE THEM OUT THIS FALL.GIVE ZELEI HIS DUE,AND MAYBE EVEN THANK HIM FOR KEEPING OUR SCHOOLS AT THE LEVELS THEY ARE.ONLY THE MORE AFFLUENT COMMUNITIES ARE RATED HIGHER.THANK OUR STATE,AND PRESENT SYSTEMS OF SCHOOL LEVIES FOR THAT.I'VE HAD 2 KIDS GRADUATE FROM BRUSH,ANOTHER ON THE WAY,AND I HAVE CONFIDENCE SHE WILL DO WELL THERE ALSO.
YOU'D NEVER THINK SO WATCHING THE KIDS COMING OUT AT DISMISSAL TIME!
YEAH,I'M A WHITE,MIDDLE AGED MAN,,,,,AND I WANT TO GET OUT OF MY CAR AND YELL AT THESE KIDS,"THIS AIN'T THE GHETTO,THIS AIN'T EAST L.A.,PULL YER' BRITCHES UP,DON'T DRESS LIKE A HOOKER,UNLESS THAT'S YER' PROFESSION."
BUT,THE KIDS DO ALRIGHT.THAT'S WHAT MATTERS.
NOW IF WE COULD GET THE ADULTS TO USE THEIR BRAINS,NOT THEIR EMOTIONS,THINK ABOUT,ESPECIALLY THESE EMOTIONAL,HOT BUTTON ISSUES,BEFORE DESTROYING A MAN'S REPUTATION.
YEAH,I REACTED THE SAME WAY,AT FIRST.AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT,
ASKED MYSELF,"WOULD I PASS ON MY RAISES FOR 4 YEARS?" NO FREAKIN' WAY!
AND DON'T EVEN SAY,"HE ALREADY MAKES ENOUGH MONEY",THAT IS NONE OF ANYONES BUSINESS.HE HAS EARNED WHATEVER HE MAKES,AND HAS LIVED BY THE RULES THAT APPLY TO HIS CAREER.
WOULD YOU DO ANY DIFFERENT?
BE HONEST,WERE YOU IN ZELEI'S POSITION,WORKED HARD,NOT A SINGLE BLEMISH ON HIS RECORD,BY ALL ACCOUNTS AN HONEST,HARD WORKING MAN.HOW WOULD IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO BE DEMONIZED,TO BE TOLD THAT YOU ARE A CHEAT,SLACKER,YOU DON'T DESERVE THAT WHICH IS DUE TO YOU!
NOTHING MORE,AND NOTHING LESS THAN ONLY THAT WHICH YOU HAVE A JUST RIGHT TO CLAIM.
HAVE WE SEEN ANY OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN SOUTH EUCLID MAKE ANY SACRAFICE LIKE BILL HAS????
C'MON PEOPLE.GO AFTER THE REAL SCUMBAGS THAT STICK IT TO US EVERY CHANCE THEY GET.GET ON CITY COUNCILS ASSES....
I WANT TO SAY THAT I'LL MISS MARY JANE SKALA.HER INSIGHT,HER OPINOINS,HER STORIES.MAYBE HER STORIES THE MOST.SHARING HER CAMPING EXPERIANCES WITH US.ME AND THE WIFE HAVEN'T GONE CAMPING FOR 10 YEARS OR SO.KIDS...
MARY JANES STORYS ABOUT HER MOM.I WONDER IF I HAVE THAT EFFECT ON MY KIDS AS MARY'S MOM,OR MY DAD,WHO DIED WHEN I WAS 17,HAD ON US? I HOPE MY KIDS WILL TALK ABOUT ME THE WAY MARY JANE TALKS ABOUT HER MOM.
I GUESS I ALSO HAVE TO PUT HER OPINONS PRETTY HIGH UP THERE ALSO.
IT SEEMS TO ME SHE HAD GREAT ABILITY TO SEE MORE THAN BOTH SIDES OF ANY ISSUE.NEVER BIASED,TOO FAR RIGHT,TOO FAR LEFT.
WITHOUT BEING "WISHY-WASHY".
COMMON SENSE,REASONING,CHALLENGE,
AND QUESTION ISSUES WITHOUT DEGRADING,OR DISRESPECTING AN OPPOSING SIDE.
ALL IN ALL,SOMEONE'S OPINION,EXPERIANCE OR STORIES THAT I LOOKED FORWARD TO READING EVERY WEEK IN THE SUN.DAMN,I'M GONNA' MISS MARY JANE.
AND DON'T YA' JUST LOVE HER NAME?
MARY JANE,LIKE SPIDERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND....
Pay should be tied to performance. If Brush had gone from an "effective" rating to an "excellent" rating under William Zelei's guidance instead of the other way around, I'd be all for his raise. But the opposite happened. Zelei's defenders have said he could make more salary elsewhere. Fine. Let him go elsewhere.
I'm afraid Selfless-Service has turned into Self-Service. Taxpayers need to reunite and take control of where the money is really going.
Your representatives are being bought. First and foremost many higher ups of public jobs in Lyndhurst and South Euclid are there to enrich themselves and gain the system. The service and effort toward us citizens and our children comes in a distant second. I must agree that many of those salaries are indeed bloated and ruinous to the core values of American life. It is the enemy within we should be worried about not those oversea.
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