This letter is written in response to a past editorial in the
Pinnacle entitled
”
Running to a Stand Still.
”
Editor,
This letter is written in response to a past editorial in the Pinnacle entitled “Running to a Stand Still.” This editorial clearly states that the public and the media were provided with the Hollister School District superintendent’s contract and its addendum. However, upon requesting this information, I unfortunately found the addendum to be vague, misleading and incomplete. Some of the problems are:
The addendum does not disclose the superintendent’s current yearly salary after raises. (The current yearly salary is what she actually receives, paid in twelve monthly installments)
The new salary of $139,500 is misleading and incomplete. It does not include raises stated as 2 percent for 2003-2004 and 2 percent plus COLA for 2004-2005. Therefore this salary is misleading and is not the superintendent’s current yearly salary
The addendum does not disclose COLA received by the Hollister School District. Without knowing COLA, the raise for 2004-2005 cannot be determined and therefore the current yearly salary cannot be determined
The addendum does not identify on what salary the raise for the year 2004-2005 should be applied.
The superintendent receiving COLA for 2004-2005 is puzzling and questionable
The addendum provided to the public and the media was not officially signed by the superintendent or the board president
In conclusion, although the Hollister School District may not have known COLA at the time this document was drafted, the media and I requested this document in December of 2004, well after the new budget was signed and COLA was known by the Hollister School District. Why was the addendum not accurately updated? Why was the superintendent’s current yearly salary not disclosed? Could it be because if they did, the addendum would show two salaries: The current yearly salary and the larger salary shown to the pension system?
When the public and the media request documents from the Hollister School District or any other government agency, they deserve to get documents that are clear, accurate and up to date. Full disclosure must be a top priority. Anything less is unacceptable.
Aurelio Zuniga, Hollister
