Court says public entitled to know Paterno’s salary
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The public has a right to know Penn State football coach Joe Paterno’s salary, a divided Commonwealth Court panel ruled Friday. The State Employees’ Retirement System board correctly decided last year that a newspaper reporter could see salary information for Paterno and other high-ranking university officials, the court said in a 3-2 decision.
Jan Murphy of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg had asked for documents that reflect years of service, salary and salary history for Paterno, Penn State’s coach since 1966, and three other Penn State administrators.
The court rejected Penn State’s argument that the information should not be disclosed because doing so could compromise personal security.
“Access to this information allows the public to meaningfully evaluate the wisdom and appropriateness of these state appropriations,” Judge Bernard L. McGinley wrote for the majority.
McGinley noted the salaries of every state employee are public record.
“Because (the) employees’ compensation information is instrumental in calculating a defined benefit to which they have a vested contractual right, and that right unquestionably involves the disbursement of commonwealth funds, the compensation information falls within the definition of public record,” McGinley wrote.
In a dissent joined by Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, Judge Rochelle S. Friedman said Paterno had a reasonable expectation of privacy because when he joined the state retirement system in July 1950, he did not receive notice that his salary could become public.
Penn State is one of four “state-related” universities in Pennsylvania. Total state aid to Penn State and the three other schools – Temple, Pittsburgh and Lincoln – has been about $650 million per year in recent years.
Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said Friday the university will appeal to the state Supreme Court.
“None of coach Paterno’s salary is funded by taxpayer dollars,” he said. “To take it a step farther than that, we have several hundred employees at Penn State who don’t receive any state funding toward their salaries, and these are people who could potentially have their salaries revealed based upon this legal action.”
Patriot-News executive editor David Newhouse said it was unclear when the records will be produced. The newspaper wanted the records immediately, but the State Employees’ Retirement System issued a statement Friday saying the prospect of an appeal would prevent their release.
“We’ve been arguing from the beginning that because Penn State is supported, to a substantial degree, by tax dollars, that these are tax dollars, and we are delighted that a majority of the court saw it that way,” Newhouse said.
Paterno said at a fund-raising event in May that he would be happy to disclose his own salary but said he understood the principle behind the university’s legal position.
Along with Paterno, the newspaper’s request also covered Richard Althouse, the university’s budget officer; Rodney A. Erickson, an executive vice president and the provost; and Gary C. Schultz, treasurer and senior vice president for finance and business.
Penn State president Graham Spanier has said the dispute was media-fueled and has been more a matter of curiosity than accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent. The four state-related universities are exempt from the state’s Right-to-Know Law.
Penn State has said releasing individual salary amounts could help competitors recruit talented faculty and would be unfair to people who were hired not knowing their pay rate would be publicly disclosed.