BB Schools Chief Retires to Collect Pension, Rehired at Full Salary

Blind Brook Schools Superintendent William Stark will retire from his job after five years at the end of this month but will then be rehired just three days later.  

The arrangement allows Stark, 66, to enter into the state retirement system in order to collect his pension but then be rehired for the same job. A loophole in the system only requires an employee to take a one day break  in order to qualify for their pension. 

School board member Jeffrey Diamond opposed the deal at the June 6 Board of Education meeting and told The Journal News' David McKay Wilson: :

“Albany left the door open by writing a law with a loophole like this. But our school board is the one that’s driving the truck through it.”

Stark's state pension is estimated at $200,000 a year which is 79 percent of his final average salary for his last three years and, combined with a salary for the reprisal of his superintendent role, totals $460,000 for the 2013-2014 school year, according to Wilson's article. 

While the arrangement is technically legal, Diamond and others have opposed the deal that forces tax payers to pay both the pension and salary at the same time while school enrollment has dropped. 

What do you think of the board's approval of this arrangement? Please share your thoughts on the deal in the comments. 

*Editor's Note: This article has been changed from its original version to reflect Diamond's comments were made to TJN's David McKay Wilson and to include more information on the arrangement.