How Much Is Enough For Tom Moore And GFPS Administrators?
Tom Moore, the Superintendent of Schools for GFPS, pockets a cool $160,000 a year — not including a robust benefits package.
His predecessor, Tammy Lacey, never made annually in her tenure what Moore makes now.
(Incidentally, has Moore accomplished anything close to what Lacey ever did? Does GFPS believe in equal pay? Is the School Board sexist? The District loves to parrot the talking point that it is “always cutting”. How, then, was increasing Moore’s salary from Lacey’s an example of “cutting”? But I digress …)
The fact is, Moore and his poo-bah’s on The Hill are relentlessly committed to fattening their already considerable salaries at a time in which a global pandemic has plunged so much of the community into financial uncertainty, if not total ruin, by pushing yet another school levy.
We all know of someone who has recently lost their job. How sympathetic are Moore and Co. to this grim reality? Well, they want a raise, of course. And they want you to pay for it.
And it’s not just Moore who stands to get richer. Take a look at the other salaries of GFPS administrators:
As superintendent, the buck ultimately stops with Moore. Policy — as finally enacted by the Rubber Stamp School Board — is always driven from the top.
When asked by a constituent about the timing of pursuing yet another permanent tax increase on the public despite historic unemployment, Moore wrote to her:
Thank you Jeni for your input. We have discussed the pros and cons of continuing to move forward with the Levy. We are sensitive to the current economic situation in the US and locally. The financial needs of the district to provide a high quality education for our children have not diminished with the recent events related to COVID-19. If anything, the needs of our children and teachers will be even greater when school resumes. Your concerns have been noted.
Respectfully,
Thomas G. Moore Superintendent
“Sensitive”?
What Moore and the School District are doing is decidely insensitive.
It is wrong.
And it is greed of the highest order.
What GFPS is doing is despicable.
I would like to know how much money the district is saving since learning has gone online. Certainly not running buses for school and especially sporting events had to have saved a lot of money. And heating and water bills should be less. Also the support staff and other personnel costs should be down as well. Perhaps someone could put those numbers together. If there are no spring sports, do coaches still receive their pay?
What are the salaries of the superintendents for the the other big cities in Montana, like Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, etc?
It would seem logical that comparison to the same jobs in similar Montana cities would be the true determining factor of whether or not Mr. Moore’s is excessive or not.
Helena – $163,000 (2018) Population 8,065. $20.21 per student
Billings – $170,000(2019) Population 16,644. $10.21 per student
Bozeman – $165,000(2019) Population 7,205. $22.90 per student
Missoula – $180,000(2019) Population 8,959. $20.09 per student
Great Falls – $160,000(2020) Population 10,157 $15.75 per student
If the people who wrote this blog were smart enough to look at the facts, and present the whole story, like journalists do, you would see that GFPS is the second largest school district in the state, and Tom Moore is paid less than the majority of the other superintendents in the state. All I have to say is vote yes on the levy, because we need it!
When Great Falls has the lost budget for a AAA school in the state and it is the third largest, I assume the previous commenters have not attended board meetings or invest igated