Lottery Suggestion

[twaddler (imported)]

I agree. Anything to increase my odds. Also, it always annoys me to see some wealthy or well-off person win the lottery -- so not fair!

[twaddler (imported)]

What about the "reason for a State lottery"?

Califo-nians approved a ballot initiative for a State Lottery on the promise that profits would help fund Califo-nia's public schools.

Can anyone demonstrate the Califo-nia State lottery has sent one cent to "schools".

Moi

Populist State Lottery advocate

In Michigan they say most of the lottery money goes to schools. They used that as an excuse to cut most of the other funding. :/ Not a win-win by any means; it just sounds good on paper, as a slogan: "All the proceeds go to schools! OMG are we great or what?"

[Sweetpickle (imported)]

I don't think many people with incomes much over $50,000 buy lottery tickets anyway. In general the lottery is a special tax for poor people and those who don't believe in math.

They always start off as "a way to help the schools" and never end up helping.

We have "limited casino gambling" here, the casinos pay a nominal tax to the local governing body and they pay the money to themselves. We have extensive lottery games but the money just disappears into the pockets of the many regulators who regulate them.

Bah!!

[A-1 (imported)]

In Michigan they say most of the lottery money goes to schools. They used that as an excuse to cut most of the other funding. :/ Not a win-win by any means; it just sounds good on paper, as a slogan: "All the proceeds go to schools! OMG are we great or what?"

...More like the proceeds go to pay SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS... (http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/ ... _coop.html)

COOPERSVILLE -- The region's highest-paid superintendent leads one of the smaller districts, and his pay rivals that of Grand Valley State University's president.

Retiring Coopersville Superintendent Kevin O'Neill makes $262,797 a year -- about $50,000 more than the region's next-closest school chief.

His highest-paid status came to light Tuesday, when O'Neill acknowledged that when The Press did a superintendent's salary comparison last year using the Freedom of Information Act, he sent an e-mail that underreported his pay by $40,000.

"All I can say is that this is very embarrassing and upsetting, and I apologize," O'Neill said. "This is a mistake on our part."

O'Neill's retirement, announced Monday, sparked The Press to review his pay history, comparing his e-mail to 2009 pay recently posted on the district website, as required by a new state law.

His actual total 2008 compensation was $247,674. not the $208,545 he reported to The Press. Had the higher salary information been reported at the time, he would have been described in the story as the region's highest-paid district chief.

He leads the ninth-smallest district in Kent and Ottawa counties -- 22 are larger.

O'Neill, 60, said he "takes full responsibility" for the inaccuracy.

"It is always our intention to comply with FOIA requests," he said. Michigan's FOIA is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records.

The Press had asked local districts to provide superintendent and other top salaries, based on 2008 federal W2 forms, using "box 5." That includes wages, plus fringe benefits such as deferred compensation, employer contributions to 401k accounts and more.

The district replied using information in "box 1," Coopersville business manager Catherine Kloska said. O' Neill forwarded the district's information to The Press in an April 17, 2009 e-mail, with his notation "Salary info from W-2." The same e-mail includes a forwarded copy of The Press' request for "box 5."

On Tuesday the district provided The Press with the proper 2008 and 2009 information.

It shows O'Neill, leading a 2,600-student district, out-earns Grand Rapids Superintendent Bernard Taylor, who gets $216,321 in salary and annuity to lead the region's largest district, at 18,700 students.

O'Neill's pay also approaches what Thomas Haas makes as Grand Valley State University president: $225,000 in salary and $40,000 in deferred compensation. Haas' perks also include a university-provided house.

Rockford Superintendent Michael Shibler is the highest-paid suburban school chief, and appeared to be the highest-paid superintendent when The Press did its survey. He is paid $210,961 and has asked for a pay freeze in each of the past two years. Rockford has 8,000 students.

O'Neill said he saw the pay report in The Press on May 31, 2009. He said he believed other superintendents also provided information based on box 1 of the W2 form.

In the 2009 Press story, O'Neill said Coopersville board members had streamlined his contract after a 2004 Press school salary review looked beyond base pay and reported on fringe benefits.

By the numbers

Kevin O'Neill's $262,797 pay to run his 2,600-student district puts him at the top of the compensation ladder for the region's superintendents. Here are some 2009 pay comparisons for educators in the region:

$216,321: What Grand Rapids Superintendent Bernard Taylor gets in salary and a board-paid annuity for leading the region's largest district of 18,705 students. He is the next highest paid superintendent in the region.

$135,644: What Hamilton's superintendent earned last year for running a district the same size as Coopersville. Another like-sized district, Comstock Park, paid its chief $119,138.

$183,994: What state Superintendent Mike Flanagan is paid to lead Michigan's schools.

$265,000: What Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas makes, with a $225,000 salary and $40,000 in deferred compensation. He also has a university-provided home.

"The board worried that it looked like they were hiding money," he said then. "They wanted something they believed to be more transparent. So now I do not get fringe benefits -- no car allowance or insurance. But they give me money so I can buy those things if I want."

O'Neill has been Coopersville's superintendent for 12 years, arriving in 1998 from Grand Rapids Public Schools, where he worked for 25 years as a teacher, principal and interim superintendent.

He is Ottawa County's second-longest serving superintendent, behind Zeeland's Gary Feenstra, who earned $185,319 in 2009, according to a district report.

In his Monday announcement, O'Neill said he is taking advantage of an extension of the state's retirement incentive offered last spring.

Interviewed on Tuesday, he emphasized his retirement has nothing to do with the salary reporting error.

"I'm worried people will tie the two together," he said. "This was an honest mistake."

A school administrator advocacy group said it doesn't keep statewide rankings of superintendent pay, but said there are "anomalies" where a superintendent can be paid far more than others in the area.

"Keep in mind that no superintendent sets his own salary," said William Mayes, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators. "Salaries come from negotiations with popularly elected school boards, and these are conversations communities need to have with their elected board members."

Coopersville Board of Education President Lori Rander said members did not know how O'Neill's salary compared to other superintendents in the region.

"We really didn't do any comparisons," she said.

"We feel that he's worth it. He's done wonderful things for our school district in the 12 years he's been here. He's got his doctorate, and he's a financial expert. He had excellent foresight to see some of the financial problems that the state would be having and we're prepared for it."

Rander said the district's next superintendent likely would not be hired in at the same level, because he or she would not have the years of experience in the district.

Source: School districts websites, Grand Valley State University, Michigan Education Department

Here are the top 10 earners in Coopersville schools in 2009, based on "box 5" of the W2 form, as provided to The Press on Tuesday.

• $262,797 Kevin O'Neill, superintendent

• $127,136 Ron Veldman, assistant superintendent

• $112,525 James Meerman, dean of students

• $112,280 Rich Salo, elementary principal

• $108,489 Ryan Pfahler, middle school principal

• $104,434 Steve Bennink, athletic director

• $102,878 Pete Bush, high school principal

• $99,018 Catherine Kloska, director of finance

• $96,693 Peter Struyk, teacher

• $94,597 Gary Klein, teacher

Furthermore, in most school districts it is IMPOSSIBLE to get elected to the school board without the support of the Superintendent of the Public Schools, especially if he or she has risen to the level of Superintendent from within the district.

[Riverwind (imported)]

And who said teachers are not paid well?

River

[gareth19 (imported)]

I have an idea: why not restrict the winners of the lottery to those who earn $50,000 or less per year?

Agree, Disagree, Why?

Very bad idea. Those with $50,000 or less per year will have fewer dollars to put into the jackpot. You need rich fools to contribute to the lottery, and the probability of their winning the jackpot is less than the probability of your being struck by lightning tomorrow, so worrying about rich people walking away with the lottery is foolish. I would more afraid of a Republican-controlled Congress taking away your health care and giving more federal money to those making over $250,000 per year. This, after all is their big beef with Obama, that he is unwilling to give more money that we don't have to the obscenely wealthy in order to increase the frightening deficit that they claim to be so worried about (that is after Obama became president, before that they were spending like drunken sailors).

[gareth19 (imported)]

What about the "reason for a State lottery"?

Califo-nians approved a ballot initiative for a State Lottery on the promise that profits would help fund Califo-nia's public schools.

Can anyone demonstrate the Califo-nia State lottery has sent one cent to "schools".

Moi

Populist State Lottery advocate

Yes, go to any school district and they will show you the things funded by the lottery. There are any number of expenditures for non-recurring expenses that are funded by the lottery.

[gareth19 (imported)]

And who said teachers are not paid well?

River

He's NOTa teacher; he's an administrator. That's the enemy.

[bobover3 (imported)]

There are big regional differences in teacher pay.

Here are pay ranges for high school teachers in different places:

Chicago $45,571 - $54,458

Houston $42,740 - $58,742

New York $54,000 - $74,379

Los Angeles $68,993 - $78,180

The median salary for a high school teacher in the US is $53,396.

[twaddler (imported)]

There are big regional differences in teacher pay.

Here are pay ranges for high school teachers in different places:

Chicago $45,571 - $54,458

Houston $42,740 - $58,742

New York $54,000 - $74,379

Los Angeles $68,993 - $78,180

The median salary for a high school teacher in the US is $53,396.

Apparently 30-50k in Michigan. Hometown pride!