The Bryant School District has agreed to pay former Superintendent Randy Rutherford until the end of June, as long as he doesn’t sue the district, according to a separation agreement obtained Thursday under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The School Board had suspended Rutherford, 52, on March 10 and recommended his termination. Rutherford had 30 days to appeal. He didn’t appeal the suspension, and he and the School Board reached the separation agreement April 3.
According to the agreement, Rutherford “agrees to immediately submit his resignation” to be dated June 30. Until June 30, the district will pay in monthly installments Rutherford’s $155,000 annual salary, along with his monthly telephone and $600 automobile allowances.
The district will also pay $6,135.49 for 9½ accrued vacation days, $720 for 12 accrued sick leave days and $1,291.66 for two accrued personal leave days. The district agreed to pay $5,000 in Rutherford’s attorneys fees to Kutak Rock LLP.
In exchange, Rutherford - who has held the position since July 1, 2010 - agrees not to sue or file any complaints against the School Board or the district. He also cannot apply for any positions, including temporary employment, with the district, the agreement states.
If he breaks the contract, Rutherford “will reimburse the Released Parties to enforce this Agreement, including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees,” the agreement states.
In total, the district will shell out at least $67,200 for his resignation. The School Board has not said why Rutherford was removed from his position, calling it “a personnel matter,” and has refused numerous requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Act for documents detailing those reasons.
Rutherford’s attorney, Jess Askew III, declined to comment Thursday.
The agreement includes a confidentiality clause, which states that the document is a “full settlement of disputed issues.”
“The parties acknowledge that this document may be covered by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act,” the agreement states. “However, the parties agree to keep confidential this Agreement, and the specific terms of it, to the extent allowed by law.”
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain a copy of the separation agreement Monday immediately after the School Board unanimously approved the agreement. But the district repeatedly refused to hand over the document until Thursday.
The district released the 10-page document Thursday after Askew and the district’s attorney Jay Bequette agreed to do so, said Don McGohan, the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources. He added that the separation agreement was the only document he’d been “authorized” to release.
It’s unclear why the district delayed the release until Thursday. Rutherford had 21 days to consider the separation agreement, according to the document. He could approve it within that time frame. A provision also afforded Rutherford seven days after signing the agreement to revoke it. The seventh day was Thursday.
The payments to Rutherford are on top of the $155,000 annual salary that the district is giving interim Superintendent Fred Dawson. Dawson’s original contract expires today, and it is unclear whether the pay would change in a new contract.
Rhonda Sanders, the School Board president, has said the district would retain Dawson while board members search for a new superintendent.
The search for a new district head comes at a time when Saline County prosecutor Ken Casady has started a criminal investigation into the district’s finances. The investigation follows a state audit that found several irregularities in the district’s finances, including the increase of two employees’ salaries and unauthorized payments to three employees for health-insurance premiums.
On Thursday, Sanders asked legislators to hold off on discussing the audit - which was released late last month - until the Legislative Joint Auditing Educational Institutions subcommittee meets again. Legislators postponed the discussion so Dawson could attend.
Information for this article was contributed by Claudia Lauer of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/11/2014