A GROUP of college students majoring in education recently asked me why there is so much anti-teacher sentiment in the country these days. A public school advocacy group recently posed the question: When did teachers become public enemy No. 1?

The answers are far more complex than the average teacher basher would have us believe, though I think teachers wrongfully have become convenient scapegoats and a talking point for political factions playing to populist disdain for big government.

But if you wanted a quintessential example of what spawns such animosity, you need look no farther than Hazleton Area School District Superintendent Sam Marolo and the recent deal to curb his contract.

As The Times Leader’s Steve Mocarsky reported last week, Marolo will get paid a full-year’s salary for 15 days work. That’s about $130,000 for what would be three weeks on the job to most of us, or about $8,667 per day.

Now how angry would that make you? Don’t answer, because Marolo also will get a per-diem payoff of $591 for each of his unused vacation days – up to 50, which would total $29,550. And the agreement signed by the board and Marolo gives the outgoing administrator $85 per day for 140.5 accumulated sick days, 8.5 unused personal days and 15.5 unused vacation days converted to sick days for reimbursement purposes. That’s another $13,982.

Now how angry would that make you? Don’t answer; there’s still more! Marolo will get $6,314 for not accepting district health insurance coverage. And he’s entitled to an early retirement incentive offered to administrators in 2009.

Did I mention Marolo will be eligible for a fairly tidy pension? The state data I could find on short notice says Marolo has at least 25 years in education. Numbers are not firm until the agency that handles teacher pensions gets involved and makes a determination. But Marolo should be able to receive 2.5 percent of pay per year in education. That would mean 62.6 percent of his salary, or more than $81,000 a year for life.

So, to recap: Marolo will work at most two more weeks in the coming school year for a total benefits package of $179,846, plus an early retirement package, and then be eligible to retire at up to $81,250 a year.

And, by the way, don’t be surprised if he later lands a job at a local college or consulting company; it’s commonplace for superintendents.

All of this comes as school districts strip millions of dollars from their budgets, lay off teachers (newest ones first, of course), cut programs and charge students fees to join sports teams or clubs. Most area administrators and even a few teacher unions have accepted some variation on a pay freeze this year, even as taxes went up in many districts.

Yet Marolo apparently has no compunction about milking the taxpayers for a little more.

This is no reflection on Marolo’s tenure as superintendent. I rarely interacted with him and couldn’t offer an opinion. It’s certainly believable that he is being ousted not for doing the job poorly, but rather for defying a school board majority seeking more control over district actions (like, say, hirings). It’s been known to happen.

Nor is this a reflection on the school board. It might have cut the best deal it could to nudge out an ineffective administrator.

The politics don’t matter. The final outcome does. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region struggles with 9 percent unemployment. Most workers see wages remain flat while taxes climb. Then they see this.

If Marolo, school board members and educators can’t see how this sort of deal turns taxpayers against public schools, they have, quite simply and unequivocally, lost touch with reality.

About the Author

Mark Guydish covers education for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7161 or mguydish@timesleader.com.

A West Hazleton native, I worked as a service technician repairing electronic mailing and shipping systems, a bike shop owner and an Emergency Medical Technician (among other jobs) before landing a reporter job at the Times Leader Hazleton Bureau in 1995. I started by covering primarily politics in Hazleton City and outlying municipalities, eventually became "social issues" team leader in the Wilkes-Barre office with the accent on education, and headed the Hazleton Bureau for a spell before returning to full-time reporting, my preferred position. I'm an avid cyclist and rode across the country in 1990, a trip of more than 5,000 miles from New Jersey to Seattle and down the coast to San Francisco. Years in the Boy Scouts made me a life long backpacker and camper, and I've yet to find a better way to enjoy the quiet lure of winter snow than cross country skiing.

Mark also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

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