By RONI REINO rreino@fosters.com |
Thursday, June 23, 2011
DURHAM — Updated nonpublic School Board minutes show the district is spending up to $185,000 to buy out Superintendent Howard Colter from his contract.
Chair Henry Brackett had previously said the board was not releasing the cost of the buyout until June 30 when Colter's contract would run out. However, on Wednesday the nonpublic minutes of June 15 were updated to state how much the buyout was costing the district.
At the June 15 School Board meeting, members had returned from a nonpublic session to announce there had been a mutual agreement between Colter and the board for the superintendent to end his contract a year early. At that point, the board chose not to reveal the cost of the buyout.
Board Co-Chair Ann Wright wrote in an e-mail that the Board had not previously released the information because there was confusion regarding whether the board could release the specific terms of the separation agreement, which included the dollar amount.
The $185,000 the board is spending is for the "purpose of implementing the mutual separation agreement between Supt. Colter and School Board including legal fees and other costs associated with implementation," according to the minutes.
Member Krista Butts made a motion to expend funds from the unspent surplus fund balance for this purpose. The motion was seconded by member Jim Kach and passed on a vote of 6-1. Minutes do not indicate who voted against the motion.
Colter said he had been working with his attorney on the details of the agreement for more than a month before the announcement was made. Neither Colter nor the board has provided a reason for the buyout.
The decision to buy out Colter's contract and hire an interim superintendent comes on the heels of announcements by High School Principal Laura Rogers and Director of Instruction Meredith Nadeau that they would be leaving this year.
Chair Henry Brackett had previously said the board was not releasing the cost of the buyout until June 30 when Colter's contract would run out. However, on Wednesday the nonpublic minutes of June 15 were updated to state how much the buyout was costing the district.
At the June 15 School Board meeting, members had returned from a nonpublic session to announce there had been a mutual agreement between Colter and the board for the superintendent to end his contract a year early. At that point, the board chose not to reveal the cost of the buyout.
Board Co-Chair Ann Wright wrote in an e-mail that the Board had not previously released the information because there was confusion regarding whether the board could release the specific terms of the separation agreement, which included the dollar amount.
The $185,000 the board is spending is for the "purpose of implementing the mutual separation agreement between Supt. Colter and School Board including legal fees and other costs associated with implementation," according to the minutes.
Member Krista Butts made a motion to expend funds from the unspent surplus fund balance for this purpose. The motion was seconded by member Jim Kach and passed on a vote of 6-1. Minutes do not indicate who voted against the motion.
Colter said he had been working with his attorney on the details of the agreement for more than a month before the announcement was made. Neither Colter nor the board has provided a reason for the buyout.
The decision to buy out Colter's contract and hire an interim superintendent comes on the heels of announcements by High School Principal Laura Rogers and Director of Instruction Meredith Nadeau that they would be leaving this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment