This is good news for Erik Olson and the taxpayers of West Bend. You might remember that Olson was forced out by the West Bend School Board last year for being too conservative (my interpretation – not something the school board will comment on). The School Board gave Olson an incredibly generous separation package for reasons that they never sufficiently explained. It was:
Basically, the agreement pays out Olson for the remainder of his contract. He will receive the amount of his full salary until June 30, 2019 – about $238k. He’ll also get $10k for moving expenses and about $10k for unused vacation time. The school district will also pay for his benefits until June 30, 2019, or until he gets a new job. So the total actual amount is uncertain because of the variability of the cost of benefits, but it’s safe to say that the taxpayers of the West Bend School District are on the hook for something north of $300,000 to buy out Olson’s contract.
The School Board essentially had to buy out his contract because they lacked the sufficient cause to fire him. Thankfully, by getting another job so quickly, Olson has let the taxpayers of West Bend off the hook for tens of thousands of dollars.
It must be such a curse to see everything in ideological terms.
Sometimes it’s just about competence.
That said, agree this is good for the taxpayers.
If it was a matter of competence, they could have fired him for cause and saved the taxpayers a contract buyout. Furthermore, Olson’s previous work history does not indicate that he is incompetent. Sometimes it is about the ideology. In this case, Olson flat out stated that in his resignation letter.