In “Book Bingo” I referenced a question in The Seattle Times’ “Q&A” column. The Times revealed that $tanford had received a $10,000 bonus the previous year for a job well done (HA!) but the board might scrap the money for legal reasons, instead offering $tanford time off to work on his leadership book.
Anxious to learn whether $tanford had been granted the book leave, I called the Superintendent’s office, the school board, and Seattle School District spokesperson Dorothy Dubia. None of them knew what I was talking about. Temporary amnesia from overwork?
I wasn’t surprised to see $tanford’s bonus pop up in another “Education Q&A” column. “Will he get the money or the time off?” I wondered. Apparently, he got neither and both.
It seems the Seattle School Board didn’t want to give $tanford another $10,000 bonus. So they gave him a $10,000 pay raise instead. And instead of granting him any book-writing leave, they extended his paid vacation from 25 to 35 days. Moreover, he can cash in up to ten days of unused vacation for about $870 per day (1/214th of $tanford’s base pay plus 1/214th of his annuity, which increased from $35,000 to $36,000).
This is the type of creativity that threatens to lure thousands of Seattle parents back from private schools! And there’s more.
We now know that $tanford gets a $9,000-per-year car allowance. He also got a new office, and I’ve heard rumors that he has a computer with a 34” monitor. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the taxpayers paid his airfare to New York City when $tanford negotiated his monumental book deal ($400,000 or $500,000 advance, depending on which issue of The Seattle Times or Post-Intelligencer you read).
Now I ask you, in light of John $tanford’s monumental stupidity, monumental ego, and monumental lies do all of these perks make any ¢???
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
