Spend it wisely. In fact, spend it on people who already make over $100,000 a year!
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday will establish a $5 million fund to provide merit pay to Chicago Public School principals.
Emanuel said he has “put together” a $5 million fund to reward the best-performing principals, with details to follow at an afternoon news conference.
But the mayor campaigned on a promise to deliver merit pay for principals and he’s about to check it off his list of accomplishments during his first 100 days in office.
Nothing for the actual people who make the principals look good - those people aren't even able to collect a negotiated raise. And since it's money that was donated by private citizens, Rahm is claiming another "check mark" on his campaign promises.
- The $5 million over five years is coming from four wealthy Chicago families. Venture capitalist Bruce Rauner and his wife, Diana, are contributing $2 million. Three other families are each giving $1 million: Groupon co-founder and executive chairman Eric Lefkofsky and his wife, Liz; Penny Pritzker and her husband, Chicago Park Board president Bryan Traubert and Paul and Mary Finnegan.
Our first thought is that these folks are buying access to Rahm's political future by enabling him to fulfill a campaign promise without raiding the empty city coffers.
Bonuses for government work is a bad idea, no matter where the money comes from.
Bonuses for government work is a bad idea, no matter where the money comes from.