Once again, a local public employee is receiving a substantial payout to leave a job ­— with no explanation to the public. It’s yet another case of severance-with-secrecy violating the spirit of Minnesota disclosure laws.

Even though recent revisions were supposed bring more transparency, public entities continue to find ways around the law, leaving taxpayers to wonder why public dollars are being paid out for no work in return.

The most recent case, first reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, involves former Principal Roche Martin and the Forest Lake School District. Martin had been principal of the district’s Linwood Elementary, but he’s been on paid leave since Sept. 25, 2013, and his resignation is effective April 30.

So for just over half a year, he’s being paid a portion of his $108,000 annual salary to stay home. School district officials won’t say why. And they’re not the only public agencies to take that approach.

Several school districts and other local government entities have clammed up in recent years under similar circumstances. And some have come under fire for it.

It’s still unclear why the city of Minneapolis has taken more than seven months to respond to the Star Tribune’s request for documents related to why Rocco Forte, a former fire chief and emergency services official, resigned two and a half years ago. At the time, officials said he had a complaint pending against him, but the basis for it and the findings of a related probe were never revealed.

Clearly, it can be difficult to balance the privacy rights of individual employees with the public’s right to know. At times, both parties want to avoid embarrassment or reduce additional costs by settling instead of going to court. In some cases, they may be trying to cover up wrongdoing.

Regardless of the reasons for the secrecy, Minnesotans have a right to know why their tax dollars are being spent on public employees who are no longer on the job.

—The Minneapolis Star Tribune