FOX NEWS: A former Philadelphia school district superintendent who collected a $905,000 contract buyout from the city has reportedly filed for unemployment benefits. Arlene Ackerman was reportedly paid the hefty buyout by the school district with taxpayer funds after a plan to use $405,000 in private funds to pay her was cancelled amid public outrage. The school district cannot contest the filing due to the separation agreement her lawyers negotiated in August, sources told Fox affiliate WTXF-TV. Ackerman was the highest paid government official in Philadelphia during her three-year stay with the school district, which is run by the state, the station reported. Her weekly salary was $6,669 and her annual salary $346,000, according to records obtained by the station. Ackerman and the Reform Commission agreed to part ways in August — with Ackerman getting $905,000 plus retirement funds and pay for vacation and leave days. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: The Hagiography Of Dr. Arlene Ackerman.
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PREVIOUSLY: QUEEN IS DEAD: Ackerman Paid $1 Million To GTFO
RELATED: One part of former superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s buyout agreement that we found particularly fascinating — one of many — is the requirement that the School District tap her on the shoulder every time someone asks for a copy of that agreement. Under the buyout, the School District released the buyout agreement to the media immediately following its ratification last week. But now, the District can only hand it over in response to official Open Records Law requests. Plus, Ackerman and her lawyer must be told who is asking for it. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: Do NOT F*ck With Queen Arlene
RELATED: OP-ED: Time For Queen Arlene To Vacate The Throne
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PREVIOUSLY: This is why Philadelphia schools suck so bad, this is why every hard-working couple of child-bearing age have plotted an escape to the suburbs by the third trimester, this is why a quarter of adults in Philly can’t read and almost half of all students don’t graduate, because before they even start kindergarten, before pencil ever touches paper, before chalk ever touches blackboard, every kid knows deep down on some sub-verbal level of intuition, the way dogs detect the approach of storms long before their masters do, that it ain’t about them. It’s not about reading and writing and arithmetic, it’s not about learning or enlightenment, it’s not about acquiring skills for survival in the modern adult world, it’s not about teachers or students, it’s about the money, how it gets divided and who gets how much. And, on behalf of the children, fuck you all for that.
RELATED: “No more messiahs, no more reform: There’s a popular notion that somewhere out there is a mythological superintendent who, if we pay enough money and stay out of the way, will fix our schools. These district leaders are an “army of one,” according to Rethinking Schools writer Leigh Dingerson, and they push dramatic reform agendas that too often disregard existing efforts. Philadelphia schools don’t need more drama; this system needs stabilization after a decade of massive charter expansion and turnaround. The next superintendent must build and effectively manage a team-oriented approach that assesses what’s working and that oversees operations, including the difficult task of closing schools.” MORE
[Illustration by EVAN LOPEZ]