Dr. Zolkoski's Plush Pad - Its Good to be YISD Superintendent
Dr. Zolkoski, affectionately known as Dr. Z, is the Superintendent of the Ysleta Independent School District. You probably already knew that based on several articles highlighting the top administrator, like this one explaining the penalty YISD pays for having him, or this one that has actually sparked my interest in Dr. Z.
This is the kind of stuff that infuriates tax-payers and ultimately does education a disservice in my opinion because it turns people off to the idea of giving school districts more money when they see their money spent on this kind of stuff.
Here's what I mean. In addition to his nearly $248,500 salary, and the $100,000 Ysleta tax-payers have paid in fines since 2009 to employ Dr. Z, it turns out they also fund the maintenance on his pool, lawn care, and pest control.
Yes, Dr. Z does in fact rent the home owned by YISD (why the hell they own a home in the first place is beyond me) but he only pays rent in the amount of $1,300 a month for a pretty nice pad with a pool in Eastridge.
But wait, it gets better. Who does the regular honey-do's that normally a husband would be made to do around the house by his wife? Apparently in many, if not most cases, YISD maintenance staff.
Yep, according to the article from the Times in July, the people that should be maintaining the schools your tax dollars pay for are also called away from their jobs to do stuff like remodel kitchens and pick up debris from the yard...at the house your tax dollars paid for too.
Trust me, the Times article has a whole host of other expenses that will drive you crazy too.
The reason I am writing about this is because apparently this issue came up to the YISD board recently and apparently the Board is hunky-dory with Dr. Z's living situation. That's cool I guess, but it does raise a few questions for me.
Like why are we paying for all this in the first place? Don't we have situations of teachers coming out of pocket for supplies or a shortage in teachers going on right now? With the cuts to education from the state, should we really be absorbing that cost? Did Dr. Z go in to Executive Session with the Board to discuss his lease agreement?
I'm just curious. And you should be too...
This is the kind of stuff that infuriates tax-payers and ultimately does education a disservice in my opinion because it turns people off to the idea of giving school districts more money when they see their money spent on this kind of stuff.
Here's what I mean. In addition to his nearly $248,500 salary, and the $100,000 Ysleta tax-payers have paid in fines since 2009 to employ Dr. Z, it turns out they also fund the maintenance on his pool, lawn care, and pest control.
Yes, Dr. Z does in fact rent the home owned by YISD (why the hell they own a home in the first place is beyond me) but he only pays rent in the amount of $1,300 a month for a pretty nice pad with a pool in Eastridge.
But wait, it gets better. Who does the regular honey-do's that normally a husband would be made to do around the house by his wife? Apparently in many, if not most cases, YISD maintenance staff.
Yep, according to the article from the Times in July, the people that should be maintaining the schools your tax dollars pay for are also called away from their jobs to do stuff like remodel kitchens and pick up debris from the yard...at the house your tax dollars paid for too.
Trust me, the Times article has a whole host of other expenses that will drive you crazy too.
The reason I am writing about this is because apparently this issue came up to the YISD board recently and apparently the Board is hunky-dory with Dr. Z's living situation. That's cool I guess, but it does raise a few questions for me.
Like why are we paying for all this in the first place? Don't we have situations of teachers coming out of pocket for supplies or a shortage in teachers going on right now? With the cuts to education from the state, should we really be absorbing that cost? Did Dr. Z go in to Executive Session with the Board to discuss his lease agreement?
I'm just curious. And you should be too...
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