Severance Package

Former Philadelphia School Superintendent David Hornbeck will get a severance package worth nearly $260,000 under an agreement approved by the Board of Education yesterday. The agreement spells out that Hornbeck's departure in August was a mutual decision and that he and the school board were at odds over "strategies," specifically in how they would go about seeking additional funding from state leaders. Hornbeck's style was combative; the board and Mayor Street have recently adopted a more cooperative and collaborative approach.

Just consider the stunning financial rewards that would have been possible for former WorldCom chairman Bernard J. Ebbers had he done an honest job, rather than bankrupting the company he founded with $11 billion in accounting fraud. Here was a chief executive officer - in other words, a prince of American commerce. As a class, on average, CEOs last year each pulled down nearly $10 million in salary and other compensation. That's more than 350 times what the average office or shop-floor worker makes.

Residents will pay the township's recently fired managing director more than $55,000 under a severance package approved by the council last night. The vote was 3-1, with Council President William Tuthill voting against. Councilman John Annuziata abstained. Carmen Raddi, 45, would continue receiving his salary, about $26,000, and benefits until the end of this year. In January, he also will earn $31,000 for unused sick pay, vacation time, and personal days. To take effect, the settlement still must be signed by Raddi, who said in an interview last night that he had not seen the proposal.

In a move that will allow Struthers-Dunn Inc. to relocate to Connecticut, the union representing 185 hourly-wage employees has accepted a $1 million severance pay package. Local 140 of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried Machine & Furniture Workers voted, 159-26, Wednesday night to accept the severance offer, said Jo-Anne Sheppard, union recording secretary. In exchange, the company will be permitted to breach the union contract by transferring operations to a sister plant in Windsor, Conn.

Because of a controversial severance package that Lincoln University trustees awarded president Niara Sudarkasa when she agreed to resign during the 1998-99 school year, Sudarkasa earned one of the highest salaries of any college president in the region that year. Her $312,300 easily outdistanced the pay awarded to the leaders of many of the region's colleges, a review of university tax forms shows. Judith Rodin, University of Pennsylvania president, retained her perch atop the list, earning $503,163 in salary in 1998-99, along with $52,392 in benefits.

A former supervisor last night called "stupid" a payout package for retired Police Chief Elmer Clawges during a meeting of a panel examining the severance package given to him. The township's Board of Elected Auditors last night began their investigation into the 1993 early-retirement plan of Clawges, who in 1994 was accused by several women of approaching them for sex, having sex with them, or sexually harassing them while he was police chief....

Fifty-one more workers have accepted a voluntary severance offer from SmithKline Beckman Corp., raising to 400 the number of employees who have chosen to leave, the company said yesterday. The 51 employees, who decided last week to take a special package of severance benefits, work in late-stage drug development, chemical-compound acquisition, project management and government regulatory affairs, said Jeremy Heymsfeld, a SmithKline spokesman. About 350 employees agreed earlier this month to accept the package.

The Rev. Robert K. Orr may be awaiting trial on child pornography charges, but he is still ensconced in the rectory at All Hallows Church. And he is not leaving without a fight. Father Orr plans to reject the latest severance package offered by the parish and the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, his attorney, John Elbert, said yesterday. That could set the stage for a legal battle that pits canon law against civil law, Elbert added. "I don't want to take them to court," Elbert said.

Penn State acting athletic director Dave Joyner disclosed Friday that the university will have to pay more than $4.4 million in severance to six assistant coaches who were not retained by new head football coach Bill O'Brien. Joyner told the Penn State board of trustees that the payout will come out of surplus funds and will lead to a proposed budget deficit of $5 million for the forthcoming year. Speaking to reporters after the board meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College, Joyner said former head coach Joe Paterno was not included as part of the severance package.

AFTER READING Michelle Malkin's column about King James McGreedy, Governor of Screw Jersey, and his "Executive Privilege," it shed lots of light on why I, as well as 14 former co-workers, were suddenly laid from our State of Screw Jersey jobs, despite our busy workloads (now pushed on our overburdened former colleagues), our loyalty (from 7 years' to 23 years' service) and commitment (always favorable feedback on our work). Not only were we laid off without warning, we got NO severance package whatsoever.

Penn State acting athletic director Dave Joyner disclosed Friday that the university will have to pay more than $4.4 million in severance to six assistant coaches who were not retained by new head football coach Bill O'Brien. Joyner told the Penn State board of trustees that the payout will come out of surplus funds and will lead to a proposed budget deficit of $5 million for the forthcoming year. Speaking to reporters after the board meeting at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College, Joyner said former head coach Joe Paterno was not included as part of the severance package.

The number of mass layoffs may be much lower than it was three years ago, but when job loss happens to you, it doesn't really matter that fewer people are getting pink slips. The financial hit hurts just the same. For the Delaware County boroughs of Marcus Hook and Trainer, the pending closure of oil refineries by Sunoco Inc. and ConocoPhillips will eliminate the jobs of more than 900 workers in early 2012. That's a big hit for two small towns. While the companies continue to try to find buyers for their sprawling complexes on the Delaware River, a nonprofit group representing financial planners intends to host a free seminar next week on what to do when facing the loss of a job. The Financial Planning Association's Philadelphia Tri-State Area Chapter will tap volunteers from its 720 members for the event, to be at the Ramada Philadelphia Airport Hotel on Route 291, Essington, from 6 to 9 p.m. next Wednesday.

FORMER Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is done taking questions. At least from Daily News reporters or any other media outlet that she felt "maligned and disrespected" her during her three-year tenure as Philly's schools chief. After stepping down as superintendent last week, Ackerman said in an email this week that she made a "deliberate decision" to give interviews to just the three media outlets that presented coverage of her that she considered "fair and balanced. " With each interview - the first with Education Week, then with FOX 29 and 900AM WURD - Ackerman's comments targeting Mayor Nutter, the School Reform Commission, PSD Chief Financial Officer Michael Masch and teachers' union President Jerry Jordan grew more scorching.

The former head of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will be paid a total of $120,000 over the next four months even though she no longer works for the agency. That $120,000 includes a newly disclosed $60,000 severance payment that she will receive in the fall. Anne LaCour Neeb, who resigned her post two weeks ago citing family reasons, will earn the money between now and October, according to a copy of her contract and separation agreement made public yesterday. While the board's executive director, Neeb made $180,000 annually.

A report by the city inspector general on Councilman-elect Curtis Jones Jr.'s dealings with the nonprofit he led questions the propriety of a $30,000 severance package he received when he left to run for office last January. The investigation, released yesterday in the last days of Inspector General Seth Williams' tenure, describes a deal Jones worked out with the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corp., a 33-year-old organization that provides financing, business-development and advocacy services to low- and moderate-income business owners and residents.

Comcast Corp. will pay the beneficiaries of 87-year-old founder Ralph Roberts his base salary for five years after he dies, according to a compensation agreement filed yesterday with regulators. If he is suddenly disabled and can't work, the company also will pay Roberts for five years. The company did not disclose Roberts' 2007 base salary but in 2006 he earned $1.8 million. Roberts founded cable giant Comcast in 1969 and is chairman of the board's executive and finance committee.

The Philadelphia School District will pay Paul Vallas, its former chief executive officer, nearly $180,000 in unused vacation and sick time, deferred salary, and retention pay under an agreement announced yesterday. District spokeswoman Cecilia Cummings said Vallas, who became CEO in July 2002, was paid only "what he was entitled to under his contract. " His final compensation package - outlined in a two-paragraph news release issued about 4:30 p.m. yesterday - became a matter of controversy last month after rumors that Vallas was in line for a hefty severance package.

OUTGOING School Superintendent Paul Vallas may be flying to New Orleans with a big wallet. He is negotiating a severance package with the School Reform Commission; one report suggested it could be as much as $500,000. How many bad lessons does this teach? It's a bad math lesson: Vallas leaves a district with academic gains, but with a $100 million deficit, and hard choices have to be made to balance the budget. How to justify even a token payment when line items like teachers, academic programs and other expenses will also be on the table?

Just consider the stunning financial rewards that would have been possible for former WorldCom chairman Bernard J. Ebbers had he done an honest job, rather than bankrupting the company he founded with $11 billion in accounting fraud. Here was a chief executive officer - in other words, a prince of American commerce. As a class, on average, CEOs last year each pulled down nearly $10 million in salary and other compensation. That's more than 350 times what the average office or shop-floor worker makes.