Jim Tobin, A Friend Of Liberty (1945-2021)
May 2nd, 2022
By: Christina Tobin
Sometimes a single man or woman has to stand up for principle, just so t[...]
It’s a Spending Problem, Not a Revenue Problem – Even in Shawano, Wisconsin!
SHAWANO—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) released salaries and estimated pension payouts for Shawano School District government employees.
“At a time when bureaucrats are trying to raise property taxes, one might think that they tighten their own belts, but not in Shawano, Wisconsin! They intend to also give themselves a 2% pay raise while raising the school property taxes by 12.4%,” stated Shawano resident and president of TUA, Jim Tobin.
“I have published the salaries and estimated pensions for Shawano School District to illustrate how irresponsible a property tax increase would be. Keep in mind that these are 2010 salaries, so it is likely that they are considerably higher today,” added Tobin.
“When average taxpayers in the district are making about $28,000 a year, how can anyone justify taking even more from taxpayers? This will hit farmers, retirees, and small business owners very hard at a time when they can least afford it.”
“It’s time for administrators to stop thinking of taxpayers as an unlimited source of money and be responsible by making the cuts to the largest portion of the budget – salaries and benefits.”
View the top salaries and estimated pensions of Shawano government school employees here.
Tobin continued, “Todd Carlson, Shawano superintendent, made a comfortable $169,196 in wages and benefits. As if that isn’t enough, he will also be paid about $117,784* annually, NOT to work when he retires.”
“The ten highest paid district employees make a combined total of over $1.5 million in total compensation; that’s an average of $150,000. It would be interesting to know exactly how many students these 10 highly paid individuals educate or how often they even step into a classroom!”
“Of the top 25 salaries for Shawano County government schools, 11 of them are from the Shawano District. Only five of the top 25 are from Bonduel and they are able to cut their rate this year. Perhaps Shawano could learn from them.”
“I am encouraging all taxpayers to attend tonight’s annual board meeting and let the bureaucrats know how they feel about their plan to increase spending without a second thought about forcing the taxpayers to foot the bill. Nearly every one of us has had to make cuts in our personal spending, yet Shawano School District administrators refuse to do the same.”
The annual school board meeting will be held tonight, August 20, at 8:00 pm, at Olga Brener Intermediate School, 1300 Union Street, Shawano.
*Based on 2010 salary data provided by the school district through the FOIA process. 1. Assumes employee retires in 1 year and this salary would be 2nd to last salary, 2. Assumes employee works 41 years or more and retires at age 65 and pension = 70%, 3. Plus Social Security.
