Interim Champaign schools chief will make $1,000 a day
CHAMPAIGN — The interim superintendent for the Champaign school district will be paid $1,000 per day for the 100 days he will work for the district.
The $100,000 employment contract between the district and Robert Malito specifies that per diem rate of pay is his only compensation. Malito will not receive health insurance, a car allowance, sick leave or paid vacation days or holidays, a contribution to the retirement system, or any other fringe benefits.
The district will reimburse Malito for any expenses he incurs in the course of his job as interim superintendent.
The $1,000 per day pay rate "is a very competitive rate, given his experience," said Stig Lanesskog, school board vice president.
He said the board looked at what other districts pay interim superintendents, as well as what traditional superintendents make in terms of salary, retirement and other benefits, including vacation time.
"All those things (factor) into what traditional superintendents get paid per diem," he said, adding the per diem range is $1,200 to $1,400. "We feel this ($1,000 per diem) is very favorable for the district and fair for Dr. Malito."
Lanesskog noted Malito won't get any payment for mileage even though he is commuting from Bloomington.
"It's a very clean, clear arrangement, which is what he wanted and what we wanted," he said.
Malito actually has two employment contracts with the district. One covers the six days he'll work this month, and the other covers the 100 days he'll work in the next academic year, which begins July 1.
As a retired superintendent receiving a pension, he may work no more than 100 days per academic year under state law and still receive his pension.
"There's a fair likelihood that the 100 days, even though we've been very thoughtful about scheduling those out, won't get us to the end of the academic year," Lanesskog said.
What the district will do then depends on when it hires a permanent superintendent and when that person could begin work. But if a permanent superintendent can't begin work until this time next summer, the district might need to look at another interim arrangement with someone else once Malito has finished his 100 days with the district, Lanesskog said.
The employment contract states it can be terminated by either the school district or Malito at any time, without cause.
MoreHe can work only 100 days before it effects his retirement pay. $100,000.00 is not a bad summer gig. He does not need the benefits of health insurance, and retirement because he already has it from his previous employer. I tip my hat to him. Great summer job.... it beats painting houses.
Paying someone $1000 a day on top of his pension is part of the reason the state of Illinois is running such a big budget deficit. There needs to be a major overhaul of the state's pension and retirement system.
Granted, this guy probably has a lot of experience and will do some good for the school district, but I do not think it will be worth the $100k he is getting for only 100 days work.
Dr. Malito has the experience...but $100,000 for a 100 days is WAY TOO MUCH MONEY IN THESE ECONOMIC HARD TIMES. There is something wrong with Champaign to pay someone that kind of money....but that is not unusual they are wanting to build a new high school to replace Central!! This state is BROKE and evidently CORRUPT BIG TIME!! How come the state is broke ...not sure when they charge $99.00 for license plate stickers!! Dr. Malito is retired with a pension he does not need the work or money!! Illinois is definately CORRUPT !!
In St. Louis Malito risked health and safety of a school campus, caused obscene environmental damage to private property and to a watershed, and ruined a community before they threw his you-know-what out in 2010. He located a toxic waste scrap dump ON the SCHOOL CAMPUS in a residential neighborhood where kids eat, play, sleep, and attend school - and pretended to do the job of a professional waste management company to collect environmental awards for himself - at the expense of health and safety on campus, with no respect for children, the community and the environment. The man is a LIAR, he mis-reported the nature of the operation to elected officials, and he distributed false information about expenditures of over 1.4 million dollars to cover up damages, AND cost Missouri taxpayers about $200,000 per year to run the folly. Missouri passed legislation to shut down the pollution-generating dangerous campus operation. Since he left, the school found alternate ways to recycle responsibly and save money. The school CFO who recently got the boot is probably thinking him right now for creating the cesspool of lies that also cost him his job. Good luck Champaign.
Malito retired from Illinois Schools at the end of the school year in 2004 when he was employed in Dist. 211 Palatine-Schaumburg. Prior he worked for McLean County Dist. 5 in Normal, IL. He retired at the end of the school year, June 2004, and moved to Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis, MO to become superintendent of the Parkway School District effective July 2004. Malito took with him an annual pension from Illinois of more than $110,000 for the rest of his life, plus bonuses and benefits from Illinois.
As it was reported weeks before he retired, Dist. 211 had the largest deficit budget in years, but in a closed session meeting in May 04 - Malito's salary was increased to $158,250, AND his raise was made retroactive to January 1, 04. (another $3,400).
In Missouri, Malito collected pension from Illinois, and the Parkway District reportedly paid Malito a base salary of more than $200,715, plus yearly contributions to a tax-sheltered annuity, travel expenses and premiums for a large life insurance policy.
It was reported in Illinois and Missouri newspapers that Malito said he was looking forward to working for a world-class school district like Parkway. Within months it became apparent to many it wasn't such a perfect match.
From 2004-2010 hundreds of complaints were made because Malito deforested school & private property to make mulch, increased the number of buses and poisonous exhaust in and around homes and yards, located a hazardous/toxic waste dump 60' from homes and watershed, allowed woodlands to become a trash dump, operated wood grinders (including for utility company tree trimmers) next to homes, transferred and processed hazardous/toxic wastes from properties in several cities, from commercial companies, scrappers, and from collection sites, to the campus and feet from homes for outdoor storage, sorting, dismantling, crushing, baling, and processing. The Materials Recovery Facility caused health and safety hazards, harmed the environment, and destroyed the values of some homes, created noise disturbances, vibrations and odor. The environment and watershed was damaged by trash and scrap, debris, shards of materials that were delivered, dumped and created during processing of scrap, which dumped into adjoining private residential grounds and the creek. Malito's PR assistant issued false information about expenditures of over 1.4 million dollars, and false reports about abatement, to hide problems and damages. Malito responded also by touting awards - some which conveniently were awarded by exemployee and co-founder of the operations.
Life savings in the form of home equity was stolen from private homeowners - who also suffered from noise, vibrations, interrupted sleep, odor, blighted scenery and trash from 2004-2010. Personal attacks were made on private citizens because they complained.
In 2010 the City of Chesterfield, MO asked Malito to close the facility at the school location. In 2010 a Missouri law was passed to make the facility illegal. In 2010 Malito's contract was not renewed at Parkway.
The operation has been estimated to have cost Missouri taxpayers over a million dollars 2004-2010 that should have gone to education. It cost private citizens more than that, and damages have not been corrected. Parkway's budget became in deficit for the first time in years, despite bond issues that were passed. St. Louis County spent years making recycling a priority and their professional waste management companies operate in the right location, without risking harm to children on campus and without damaging private property and watershed.
Some describe the Parkway district as rotting from the head down in the years 2004-2010. False information from Parkway's adm. became the accepted norm. A board member who established the operation is the same board member who allowed false financial information to be distributed.
No criticism is aimed at Malito regarding his pay. Illinois taxpayers do criticize the program that allows someone to rake so much in from the state of Illinois. The increase approved just before he retired in 2004 is interesting....
On another level, Missouri citizens criticize Malito's total disregard to the damages to win "environmental awards", while damaging the environment, and damaging hard-working citizens by costing their life savings and their home investments.
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