Not long before the Citi Performing Arts Center decided to make drastic cuts to its popular summer production of Shakespeare on the Boston Common, its board agreed to pay president and CEO Josiah Spaulding Jr., a $1.265 million bonus
I have long taken sideswipes at certain directors of non-profit arts centers who earn massive salaries. I will confess that I don't begrudge anybody making money and making as much money as they can. What I do get incensed at, and when I usually make snide comments, is when these people resort to the corporate speak of greedy CEO's at large public companies.
Like when they are trying to make budget cuts, push out security guards, or freeze salaries, all while their income continues to go up exponentially. I have made more than my share of comments about Josiah Spaulding, CEO of the Wang Center, now the CitiCenter.
After my last little smart remark, I felt a little bad. In examining the massive cuts at the Shakespeare on the Common, I questioned his "ever increasing" salary.
On my thank you letter for a donation to the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Mr. Spaulding handwrote a note in which he expressed disappointment in my comments as he had recentley taken a paycut. (At about the same time, I received an e-mail that confirmed this.) I felt bad and issued a correction on this blog.
Well, Geoff Edgers' new article today reveals that while Mr. Spaulding did take a salary decrease of over 100K. He also, at the same time, took a 1.2 Million dollar bonus.
Read the article. It is interesting. For my part, I learned my lesson. I ain't taking the word of multi-millionaires anymore.
And yes, Thomas, in a way, you told me so.
7 comments:
It was a $1,265,000 bonus and a $95,000 pay cut. Plus his wife's salary and both their benifits. Their needs to be someone to keep them in check because their board of "trustees" are on the payroll. Shame on Spaulding!
Okay, Art, I won't say it . . .
Citicenter.org just posted a response to the Edgers column today in the Globe. It seems they're all prepared to go down with ship!
BUT . . . you forgot to mention that Spaulding hired his own wife to run their website, and board trustees are picking up paychecks to do PR and legal work. Basically, a chunk of any money you donate to that Shakespeare festival ends up in some insider's pocket. And don't get me started on the off-stage machinations of Steven Mahler! I repeat - do NOT give money to Commonwealth Shakespeare!
All true!
But in my defense I didn't mean to skip over that stuff in this post. I provided the link to the article so that everybody could read the outrageousness.
And I have called Spaulding on his salary in at least three posts over the years on this blog. Basically, whenever he made a statement about how tough the economic times are, while he was overseeing the cutting of programs, etc.
failed director + unemployed reviewer = thomas garvey
Ah, it's that brave soul, Anonymous, once again spitting through the electronic transom! Art, if you keep publishing this twerp, you won't be hearing from ME again . . .
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