Hatrick Has a Perk That Refreshes: Travel
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Friday, February 20, 2009
School superintendents in the Washington region work punishing hours as a rule, with duties that blur day and evening, week and weekend. Some ease the strain by getting away from the office — far away, and often.
Records and interviews show that some school chiefs took nine, 10, even 12 weeks of paid leave in the last fiscal year for vacation, personal matters and professional travel to such destinations as Florida, Europe and Asia. That's on top of holidays and institutional days off, which are comparatively plentiful in public education.
Typically in the region, contracts allow five or six weeks of annual vacation as well as any reasonable amount of travel for professional growth.
Freedom to roam is a largely unnoticed perk enjoyed by some of the region's highest-paid local public officials, the records and interviews show.
Loudoun County Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III spent 49 weekdays from July 2007 through June 2008 traveling the nation and the world in pursuit of reinvigoration and professional growth. He visited Hartford, Conn., and Minneapolis in summer; Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Rome and Madrid in fall; Tampa in winter; and Los Angeles again and Beijing in spring.
In Madrid, Hatrick spoke about best practices in U.S. education at a conference of international school officials. In Beijing, he took a tour tailored to school systems, like Loudoun's, with nascent Chinese language programs.
HATRICK'S TRAVELS
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"We're like everybody else: We need to be refreshed," said Hatrick, who is in his 18th year as superintendent, the longest tenure in the region. "We need to see a world beyond the parochial world in which we live."
Hatrick also took 11 days of vacation, for a total of 60 days of leave in 2007-08. He took more paid leave than any of the other 10 superintendents who responded in full to a Washington Post survey. Fairfax County Superintendent Jack D. Dale ranked second, with 51 days of leave. Prince William County Superintendent Steven L. Walts ranked third, with 46.
Dale spent two weeks in summer 2007 meeting with education leaders in Taiwan and in the South Korean city of Busan, whose Korea Science Academy has a partnership with Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Walts went to destinations including Phoenix; Rochester, N.Y.; Dallas; Orlando; and Tampa.
The 11 local superintendents surveyed took an average of 34 days of paid leave in the fiscal year that ended June 30, putting Montgomery County's Jerry D. Weast (33 days), Arlington County's Robert G. Smith (34) and Anne Arundel County's Kevin M. Maxwell (34) in the middle of the pack.
On average, the 11 leaders also took 13 holidays. Two others, former Prince George's County superintendent John E. Deasy and D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, provided records that were incomplete but that suggested their business travel and other time away from the office followed the regional pattern.
School leaders occasionally draw criticism for travel. They and their critics diverge on this question: To effectively run a large school system, with dozens of schools and thousands of employees, how often is it necessary to be in the office?
To some extent, travel comes with the job, especially for prominent leaders who circulate at national conferences. "When you are superintendent of the 12th-largest school system in the country, you are expected to take a national leadership role in education," Dale said in an e-mail.
Schools chiefs say they keep in constant contact with the office, thanks to such tools as the BlackBerry. And of course, there is no evidence of a link between superintendent travel and student test scores.
Still, schools chiefs are among the highest-paid local public officials in the region. Counting salary and benefits, Hatrick's total compensation in the last school year was $341,530, Rhee's was $356,341, and Dale's was $421,395. Weast had the largest package among local superintendents: $489,763. With that kind of pay comes the expectation of being in the office and on task.
"Travel to places like Florida, in the dead of winter, somebody should think twice," said Lyda Astrove, a Montgomery parent. "I think that we've got enough issues right here at home."
The trips logged by the 11 superintendents cost their school systems, on average, $5,636 for the year. That's a modest sum but a convenient target for allegations of extravagance as school systems limit or freeze teacher salaries and other expenses.
Frequent travel also means a superintendent might not be in town when controversy or crisis strikes.
Dale was in San Francisco at a conference sponsored by Apple computer company on April 10 when the Fairfax School Board found itself on the defensive over a school system report that showed a racial achievement gap in education about moral character. Dale handled media questions by telephone.
Expect superintendents to travel less this year. Several school systems have forbidden or discouraged conference travel to save money. Weast said he would skip two major conferences in Florida this spring. St. Mary's County Superintendent Michael J. Martirano said he had already curtailed travel. He attended no national conference in 2007-08.
"I don't like to be out of my district," Martirano said. "I like to be present, and I like to be visible."
Hatrick said he routinely works from 8 in the morning to 10 or 11 at night. He said he also worked a full or partial weekend day about once a week in the 2007-08 school year.
"He's the hardest-working person I've ever met in 37 years," said Loudoun School Board Chairman Robert F. DuPree Jr. (Dulles). "When he is allegedly on vacation, visiting his grandchildren, he is e-mailing."
Dale said he worked 13 weekend days and many evenings in 2007-08. Fairfax School Board Chairman Daniel G. Storck (Mount Vernon) said, "Our School Board didn't hire Jack Dale for how well he punches a time clock."
Superintendents say attending conferences helps them keep pace with trends. Hatrick said that at seminars, he has buttonholed superintendents of other fast-growing school systems for ideas on how to handle Loudoun's enrollment surge.
"My question is always, 'What would you do different?' " he said.
Superintendents took some of their leave in summer, when schools are closed. Often, they travel in near-anonymity. But not always.
When Weast lunched with a government committee in Belfast in September, parents chronicled the event on a lengthy Internet log called Weast Watch — even contacting the Northern Ireland government for details.
Rhee appeared at a news conference in Sacramento in November as a member of the transition team for then-Mayor-elect Kevin Johnson. The Sacramento Bee reported in December that she and Johnson "seemed inseparable," with Rhee visiting almost every other week. A January item in The Post's Reliable Source column linked them romantically. Some observers wondered how the leader of the troubled D.C. school system could find time to help Johnson's transition.
"It's not her job, and we're not paying her to do that," said Mary Lord, a D.C. State Education Board member.
Rhee took 29 days of personal leave and 15 days of official travel in the calendar year 2008. She declined to be interviewed.
Several superintendents from the Maryland suburbs traveled relatively infrequently, including Charles County's James E. Richmond, who nonetheless squeezed in six days in Stockholm for a conference and Nobel Peace Prize events.
Howard Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin, whose school system is comparable in size and prestige to Loudoun's, left Maryland only once on a business trip in the 2007-08 academic year.
"Some of these conferences," he said, "are not my style."
Staff writer Bill Turque contributed to this report.
Tagged: Edgar B. Hatrick III, Loudoun County Public Schools, school board, schools, travel
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I doubt Hatrick works harder than any of us. We are such dumb taxpayers in Loudoun COunty to allow this to occur. I would like the same benefit for my job, where do I sign up?
Posted by pete (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 7:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No wonder they need all the money in the school budget.
Posted by mitlen (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 7:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
clip those wings and the costs for them to spread.
Posted by quietobserver (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee, I'd love to be "refreshed" with multiple vay-cays paid for by taxpayers. Put an end to this waste, NOW! And take away the damned "company" cars - Hatrick can use his own and put in for mileage reimbursement, like the rest of us.
Posted by GenuineRisk (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
He runs a fine school system IMHO. I like his priorities and think he represents the school system very well.
I have zero problem with this.
Posted by JkR- (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Please explain why this report was not published prior to the meetings on the school budget. Was it coordinated with HATRICK? This just shows how bad the supervison on the school budget is and has been for years.
Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As a recent graduate of LCPS I assure all of you that Dr. Hatrick does an exceptional job as superintendent. Loudoun County students are more prepared for college compared to other districts and our test scores are considerably higher than other districts. Dr Hatrick runs the school system with no problem and should be commended for his great work, not criticized for his travel practices.
Posted by kevbess (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Assuming Dr. Hatrick's yearly spend is in line with the average reported in this article - $5,636/year - that's not exactly a lot of money. Most corporate employees who travel frequently as part of their job spend a lot more than that. Compare that to the costs described in a recent WAPO article about the MWAA board members travel habits... not even in the same universe.
That being said given the economic situation this year would be a good year to dial that down... Not that attending any of those conferences sound like a particularly enjoyable task to begin with...
Posted by mitch (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 10:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yet another example of how LCPS employees are not in sync with the real world.
Posted by cutterjohn (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wait! Where's LoudounPatriot? He will sing the praises of our wonderful public school system, while chiding us for not supporting Dear Leader and his pleas for tax hikes.
Yes, it is truly exhausting work to mismanage hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and sixty days of vacation is reasonable - nay, necessary - for such important work to continue.
Never mind that us bourgeois taxpayers have to BUY additional vacation days from our employer just to make up a third of Hatrick's vacation days. As you can plainly see from posters like "kevbess" who don't pay taxes, Hatrick is a bastion of fiscal responsibility and wisdom.
Posted by Hoqenishy (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 11:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Just to let you know I do pay taxes in Loudoun County
Posted by kevbess (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
CutterJohn, Please do not put all LCPS employees in the same category. We are very much real world employees!
Posted by Babyduck1974 (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As a Loudoun County taxpayer, and a friend of three County employees whose jobs are on the chopping block, I resent the fact that Mr. Hatrick finds it necessary to be refreshed, at taxpayer expense. Perhaps if HE were to lose HIS job, he would have a LOT of time to be refreshed. Shame on him.
Do you suppose the money spent to support his "wanderlust" might be equivalent to the salaries of some of us who will soon be out on the street? I know what would be refreshing -- another School Board Chairman!
Posted by froglady47 (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 4:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A Government worker with a salary like Hatrick's needs to be refreshed? Puh-Lez!!!
Posted by AlbyVA (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hatrick and his fawning supporters had better keep in mind what happened to King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their courtiers. Their eating cake and sipping champagne while we peasants are going hungry can have only one consequence. Viva la revolucion and off with their heads!!
Posted by segeny (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 6:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This article is a distraction to the REAL issue at hand, the county budget. It is crucial that we remember that the primary concern in Loudoun County education is the children, not an administrator.
We need to look at the school budget as an investment in our children's future. And we need to remember that Mr. Bower's proposed tax rate of $1.29, which provides a tax REDUCTION to most Loudoun homeowners, allows a reduced school budget to provide the personnel and materials necessary for an excellent education.
Remember, too, that LCPS employees will all taking home LESS in their checks next year. They have put their money where their mouths are, supporting the children they teach by accepting pay freezes and benefit cuts that form a large apart of school budget cuts already made by the school board.
The county budget is the issue, not a school administrator. Don't be fooled, even by pathetic purveyors of rant and bombast like Hoqenishy.
Posted by LoudounPatriot (anonymous) on February 20, 2009 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe Hatrick should permanently be "refreshed" by retirement. It is time for new people and new ideas. When you need to be "refreshed" at taxpayer expense you obviously are not the right person for the job!!!!!!
Posted by livingloco (anonymous) on February 21, 2009 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Over 70% of your tax money goes to schools. County services and staff have been given there RIF notices. When your parks, libraries,fire rescue/sheriff, county offices have less services to meet your needs you have but one place to look ..the schools. When you want a permit to due something except a longer wait, When you want to ask a tax question, expect to leave a voice mail or wait in line. No more DVM select for car registration, hello standing in line at State DMV offices. Complain about your neighbor and a zoning violation, company trucks blocking your residental neighborhood, business being run out of the residental neighborhood, multi families in a single family home wait in line. Child did not get what they needed from library, closed on the weekends opps. Bathrooms not working at the parks,grass not being cut, street sign knocked down and you want a replacement stand in line. Senior services, 4 H programs, extension services unavailable. Better learn alot of patience folks and look at the schools and how they spend you money. The school board is responsible for the waste and there is alot of it. We just keep accepting the statement "For the children" When people lose their jobs and leave the county and the tax base becomes "investment property" you will see more of what has occurred in Sterling which 25 years ago was a proud community.
Posted by baboholly (anonymous) on February 22, 2009 at 6:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Right on baboholly!!!
Posted by itzazoo (anonymous) on February 24, 2009 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
maybe the school admin should work out of trailers instead of teachers having to teach out of trailers...not going to happen since admin has their Taj Mahal.
Posted by jenjenjenks (anonymous) on February 24, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sure OUR budget is one big financial problem during these times, but WE share with ALL other couties the same austere outlook period and just look at the steps they are taking to reconcile their school budgets and the harshaest measures sure to follow accordingly?
So now, for the first time since I can remember, we actually see the not yet complete costs (who else went along for which WE taxpayers had to pay for) of Mr. Hatrick's compensation.
11 days leave BUT he is NUMBER 1 of all the Superintendents in our area on TRAVEL, which this article NOW revealed 49 days of travel
at Loudouner taxpayer's expense and just reflect for a moment at these locations he has travelled on OUR dollars?
This is very timely when OUR supervisors are about to set the tax rate which about 80% of which applies to the School Budget.
Is it reasonable to say that Evem if he is doing an excellent job, his TOTAL COMPENSATION just may far exceed any comparable standard? Ask yourself-
OUR supervisors are going to held especially accontable to the taxpayers as they will
adjudicate what that tax rate will be.
I agree our school standards are comparable to nearby counties,
but we as taxpayers perhaps should "at least attempt to draw the line" of these "just maybe" excesses in judgments?
I implore each and every one of OUR supervisors to consider these facts now
known about Mr. Hatrick in their deliberations.
Posted by odellba (anonymous) on February 25, 2009 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd love to see this newspaper do a story on Hatrick's compensation for transportation. He gets a vehicle allowance, PLUS reimbursement for personal vehicle mileage, PLUS use of a county car. That sounds like triple-dipping to me. Add to that the fact that the procurement process for major county construction and purchase contracts never seems to be objectively and truly independently audited...
Posted by AngelaB44 (anonymous) on February 25, 2009 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Judging from the comments on this article, I'd say a lot of people have serious concerns about the school budget and how it's driving the tax burdens ever higher in good times and bad. I decided it was time to start looking into this when my property taxes actually started exceeding my state income tax, and I live in a pretty average neighborhood by Loudoun standards.
I attended the initial Loudoun board of supervisors public hearing last night. It was stacked with a sock-waving mob (for S.O.C.S or "support our county schools") in full support of the education budget with no further cuts. There were 90 speakers registered, but I only hung around for 2 hours...long enough to hear about 50 of them. Of those 50, it opened with the entire Middleburg town council (including the mayor) begging to keep what amounts to their publicly funded private school and library open. A handful begged for no cuts to libraries (which I can get behind) and special interest groups like "Leadership Loudoun" and "Master Gardeners" (which I never even knew existed). The rest was members of the sock-mob stating that they're Loudoun taxpayers, and that they're willing to absorb any increase in taxes "for the children" to a chorus of raucous cheering.
Like many of you, I don't understand how staffing 20 assistant athletic directors or making sure teachers don't have to chip in a little bit for their dental plans will help make my kids any smarter. I DO understand that I took a bigger pay and benefits cut this year than they'll ever be asked to suffer, in addition to several coworkers losing their jobs. Only 3 individuals called for any kind of cuts to Bowers' proposed $1.29 budget. Better make your voices heard directly by the BOS...it loaded up with current and former school employees in the last election, so it will be an uphill battle for sure.
Posted by thebiggaloot (anonymous) on February 26, 2009 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As Hatrick travels Park View wont be offering AP Physics, AP Multivariable Calculus and AP Computer Science next year all due to "budget cuts." The good news is Loudoun Valley gets a new grandstand and Hatrick can travel to relax...
Posted by waxtraxs (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 7:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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