Lindsey Cannon, the new executive director of the Escambia Children’s Trust, got her salary increased from $120K to $125K.
Board members Stephanie White and Rex Northrup argued that Cannon’s experience deserved higher pay, putting her on par with executive directors for similar organizations around the state. White also pointed out that Cannon is not accepting health insurance, saving the Trust more than $ 6,000.
David Peaden and Lumon May argued that the board should stick to the advertised salary and raise Cannon if she turns around the organization.
The salary passed 6-3, with May, Peaden, and David Williams voting no.
The board also added new language to the provider contracts, adding a nepotism clause, clawbacks if failed projects, penalties for late reports, creating a sustainability plan after the award expires, and turning over all equipment and supplies after a contract expires.
Not presented at the meeting were more standard measurements of outcomes and a memorandum with the Escambia County Public Schools giving the Trust access to participants grades, test scores and attendance records, which would help measure outcomes more objectively.
David Peaden’s remarks were such a breath of fresh air, and the public should be very grateful to him for affirming what was so evident in how all this went down–it was just another back-door set-up, with the Board ringleaders of this fiasco orchestrating with staff, and staff intentionally keeping things secret from the minority of Board members who are trying to get control of the train wreck. The count on the latter last night was 3 people trying to do the right thing: Mr. Peaden, Commissioner May, and School Board member David Williams. In other words, business as usual.
(Admirably, Williams split with Superintendent Keith Leonard, who disappointingly appears quite content to settle into the GOB/GOG tactics. Or maybe he was too distracted by the Escambia School District getting their lunch handed to them in federal court yesterday to keep his hats straight–the Trust is where he is supposed to HELP Black and Brown kids, not help the State discriminate against their representation in books.)
Let me underline that the words “set up” are mine and not Mr. Peaden’s. I’ve called out what I perceived to be back door set-ups by Board members of the Trust at key junctures before, with certains of them arriving in a comfortable and settled understanding with each other. They’re either horrible at hiding who’s in the loop, or they don’t care that it’s obvious some of them seem to know exactly how they’re going to play the meeting together to extract their special interest goals and satisfy the de facto, real administrators of the public Trust money operating behind the scenes.
Mr. Peaden was blunt, clear, and seemed justifiably out of patience in stating publicly that
1. Ms. Cannon had never mentioned in her interview that she might want a higher salary, and
2. It was communicated to him through an intermediary that she wanted it.
In fact, he was led to believe that Ms. Cannon was willing to take a small (by percentage) pay cut because she felt the job was a calling.
Of course, when the water carriers keep arriving prepared with a plan of action to slam down on the dais, the members who then argue to get the money to the kids who need it are always going to be back on their heels.
I’m still sticking with my gut that Ms. Cannon is already happily being manipulated and/or managed, and it started out with her being coerced to coerce more pay out of the Board. Don’t get me wrong, she’s plenty comfortable with her own capabilities and what they should entitle her to, if her time at the podium was any indication. But this entire thing seems more about waving it in the face of the taxpayers that the majority of this Trust Board absolutely will not–ya got that? WILL NOT–conduct themselves responsibly with our money, and that they will not stop their boo hooing about public accusations of their irresponsibility and recklessness when All They’re Trying To Do Is Everything They Can Do For The Kids.
Earth to speechifying Board Members: it’s not that the public doesn’t understand what you keep repeating at a higher volume. It’s that we don’t believe you.
So please continue to articulate your justifications and rationalizations as clearly and forcefully as possible from the dais, because the louder the Trust Board majority making these horrible decisions protests that the public simply doesn’t understand what they’re trying to do and how hard it all is, the better the public actually *will* understand what’s going on, and get even more unhappy about it. The justifiable outrage is growing apace.
What remains to be seen is whether the public’s voice, or doing the right thing for that matter, stands a chance impacting this no bread/bad circus boondoggle. This is some pretty corten steel will power to do whatever the heck they’re gonna do on display from the majority of that dais.