March 21--Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday defended his decision to hire a Chicago charter schools executive to join his administration on a $250,000 contract.
Beth Purvis, who holds a doctorate in special education and served as CEO of the Chicago International Charter School, "is well worth every penny," Rauner said. "She's going to drive great value for taxpayers."
Purvis quietly joined the Rauner administration after serving on the new governor's transition team. She announced herself as a representative of the governor's office at an education committee hearing earlier this month, but her hire was not publicized until Friday -- after questions were raised about her pay -- when the governor's office formally named her secretary of education.
Her deal, first reported by the Associated Press, is an independent contractor arrangement that does not include state health or retirement benefits. But Purvis' pay is more than double her predecessor in the Quinn administration and comes at a time when Rauner has been suggesting that rank-and-file state government workers are overpaid.
Rauner said Purvis' hiring was in line with his belief that "people should be compensated based on their productivity and their effectiveness."
"Beth Purvis is one of the very few people, maybe the only person, who has incredible experience from cradle to career on education and training," Rauner said when asked about the contract after an event in Chicago's Little Village on Friday. In the private sector, Purvis would be paid more, Rauner said.
Administrator salaries in Illinois school districts averaged $101,096 last year and go as high as $357,117. An AP analysis found that 65 school superintendents' salaries were higher than $250,000 last year.
"We have a mindset too much in government that everybody's identical, everybody should be treated the same and the only difference should be based on seniority," Rauner said. "I fundamentally disagree with that philosophy. ... We could pay everybody the same and have a lot of mediocre folks. And we've suffered from that in government. We've got to change that mindset. "
Purvis was an early supporter of Rauner's political ambitions. She donated $500 to Rauner's campaign for governor in spring 2013, campaign finance records show.
The Associated Press contributed.
kgeiger@tribpub.com
Twitter @kimgeiger
