Arlene C. Ackerman seeks an unemployment check, outraging many

Struggling with a cash-flow problem and preparing to eliminate more programs and lay off more employees, the Philadelphia School District now faces another expense - Arlene C. Ackerman's unemployment check.

The controversial former superintendent left the district with a payout of nearly $1 million earlier this year, including a lump-sum payment of $905,000, plus $83,000 in unused vacation and personal days.

But the district was notified last week that Ackerman had filed for unemployment benefits on top of the payout, a spokesman said.

The School Reform Commission, which signed off on the payout, promised in Ackerman's separation agreement not to block her from filing for unemployment, although on Tuesday a state legislator pledged to use his powers to prevent her from getting paid.

Based on her $348,000 annual salary, Ackerman would be eligible for the maximum $573 weekly benefit, minus the amount of her public pensions. The district, which is self-insured for unemployment compensation, will have to foot 100 percent of any payments to Ackerman, said district spokesman Fernando Gallard.

Dean Weitzman, Ackerman's attorney, said she was merely taking a benefit she had contributed to. "She was not fired. She was not let go. She is indeed unemployed," Weitzman said. "She is taking that which she's entitled to take."

The prospect of the struggling district sending more money Ackerman's way outraged many.

Mayor Nutter denounced Ackerman's filing in a statement. "Given the financial crisis facing the Philadelphia School District and the nearly one million dollar settlement agreement that the former superintendent received, it's astounding to me that she's coming back to the district seeking unemployment compensation," Nutter said.

State Rep. Michael McGeehan accused Ackerman of "unconscionable arrogance" and said he would ask the state Department of Labor and Industry "to take the extraordinary step to intercede directly and deny her application," on the assertion that she voluntarily left her job.

"She wasn't fired; she agreed to leave her post after being offered the buyout package from the mayor," McGeehan, a longtime Ackerman critic, said in a news release. "Unemployment compensation is there as a safety net for working people who have lost their job and need assistance affording basic needs like food and shelter for themselves and their families."