Public School Applying to Form Cyber Charter School

[Comp 101]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It's not a fallacy. Schools might not be businesses, but the people who work for the schools are employees just like the people who work for businesses. They should be appropriately compensated for their work. If they have the responsibilities of two jobs, they should be paid accordingly. They aren't volunteers.

There is a big difference between volunteering and $175,000 a year. If an unscrupulous administrator decided to do both, the potential for two or three hundred thousand a year salary is quite probable. If we are measuring revenue generated, and that revenue is funded by taxpayers and not by the selling of a product (parents in their role of parents pay nothing-taxpayers fund everything), I disagree with any real comparison to industry or business.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Comp 101

There is a big difference between volunteering and $175,000 a year. If an unscrupulous administrator decided to do both, the potential for two or three hundred thousand a year salary is quite probable. If we are measuring revenue generated, and that revenue is funded by taxpayers and not by the selling of a product (parents in their role of parents pay nothing-taxpayers fund everything),

If taxpayers have to pay two salaries for two different jobs, it costs the taxpayers the same to pay both salaries to one person to do both jobs.

Originally Posted by Comp 101

I disagree with any real comparison to industry or business.

You don't have to agree with me for my point to be valid.

[toobusytoday]

I'm guessing there is more to this then what is being reported. While I agree with Hopes about a person being compensated for their job, if someone is being paid a full time salary, then they should be working full time. I don't think the salary that the OP mentioned is for part time work.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

While I agree with Hopes about a person being compensated for their job, if someone is being paid a full time salary, then they should be working full time. I don't think the salary that the OP mentioned is for part time work.

When it comes to exempt positions, there is no time requirement for a full time job. The only requirement is that the job be done. They are paid a salary for doing the job, not putting in specific hours. That's why they can't be paid overtime. It goes both ways too. If exempt employees work less than 40 hours, they can't be docked pay. An employer can't dictate a minimum amount of hours worked either or the employer would have to pay overtime. Many exempt employees fall into the blue collar mindset of mentally punching a clock and accept pressure from employers that isn't legal. Exempt employees are paid for doing the job, not for their time.

[Comp 101]

Since Hopes has turned this discussion into one of whether or not it's appropriate for a salaried person to collect two salaries, I'm going to leave this discussion with the following excerpt from the Pennsylvania School Code regarding professional conduct.

Improper personal or financial gain.


The professional educator may not:
(1) Accept gratuities, gifts or favors that might impair or appear to impair professional judgment. (2) Exploit a professional relationship for personal gain or advantage.

If a teacher uses his position to gain clients for his side job, it's wrong.
If an administrator uses his position to get a discount on a lawnmower, it's wrong.
Yet if anyone employed by a school uses that school to start another school which could directly compete for students and keep collecting salaries from both, that's all right?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Comp 101

Since Hopes has turned this discussion into one of whether or not it's appropriate for a salaried person to collect two salaries, I'm going to leave this discussion with the following excerpt from the Pennsylvania School Code regarding professional conduct.

I didn't create this discussion, you did. That was the whole topic of this thread in your OP----you don't think that it's appropriate for administrators to collection two salaries and you consider it a confliect of interest. Now you're going to leave the discussion simply because I didn't agreed with you? Fine by me.

Originally Posted by Comp 101

Yet if anyone employed by a school uses that school to start another school which could directly compete for students and keep collecting salaries from both, that's all right?

You haven't provided any proof that there is an administrator in PA who started a cyber school on the side without the support of his/her school board. I'm only aware of retired administrators starting a cyber school in central PA. If they are retired, there's nothing ethically wrong with it.

It would be the school board initiating the start of a cyber school on behalf of the district, not the administrator, and the school board asking the administrator to run both. An administrator can't start a cyber school on behalf of the district without the school board being behind it. The administrators names are on the applications because they are the school districts employees who have the education required by the state to run a cyber school. If the school board wants an administrator to do two jobs, that's the school board's decision.