Last November, without divulging the reason to taxpayers, the Pittsburgh school board voted to pay the district's top academic officer at the time, Lynn Spampinato, $213,000 to go away less than a year into a three-year contract.

The circumstances behind the buyout were kept confidential because it was a personnel matter. But even without knowing the details, the public could fairly conclude that they did not get the service that had been anticipated from her and that taxpayer money had been wasted, just as the hopes of Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, who had chosen Dr. Spampinato, had been squandered.

The flimsiest of fig leafs was applied to justify her paid departure. The agreement said Dr. Spampinato had to be available to the district as an academic consultant through April 15, 2008. In return, she agreed to resign her post and not sue the district.

But she wasn't given a set workload or schedule and district Solicitor Ira Weiss said very frankly: "She will be paid the money regardless of the level of utilization of her services."

Indeed. This week Dr. Spampinato was nominated to become the commissioner of education in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Good luck and congratulations to her. It sounds like a plum job in a nice part of the world, overseeing more than 30 schools on three islands for $110,000 a year. Reached by the Post-Gazette, she said she has been doing consulting work for the Pittsburgh schools and would complete it on her own time.

But how much of a person's own time can be devoted to a leftover project when new responsibilities are pressing and there's no monetary incentive to worry about old business?

As Pittsburghers well remember, the city post was not the first one she was paid to leave. In 2004 Dr. Spampinato took a $211,000 buyout from the Summit School District in Frisco, Colo., after only eight months as superintendent and a philosophical dispute.

Being able to take Pittsburgh's money and run -- to a new job with its own money -- underscores the original folly and makes the whole affair all the more galling.

Once again, the taxpayers are left holding the bag, amid high-priced questions and school officials barred by lawyers from giving answers. As we have said before, there ought to be a law that requires full disclosure. No wonder public offices are viewed with such skepticism.