By Larry Coonrod, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:00 am
Senator says deal "got around" golden parachute law
Members of the Oregon Senate's Education and General Government Committee grudgingly came to the conclusion Monday that the Lebanon Community School District's resignation agreement with former superintendent Jim Robinson does not violate the state's "golden parachute" law, but made clear they thought it violated the purpose of the law.
Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, called the hearing after constituents expressed concern about settlement agreements reached with Robinson and former Reynolds School District superintendent Terry Kneisler.
Robinson, who had two years remaining on his contract, resigned on Oct. 6 after signing a buyout agreement worth about $400,000 in salary and benefits. Kneisler received a $200,000 buyout package in September, including a $400 a month car allowance.
"I don't think we accomplished a whole hell of a lot with (Senate Bill) 384," Walker said. "There's no reason on God's green earth he should be driving around not working and getting $400 a month."
Walker was unaware until after the meeting that Robinson received a similar travel allowance worth about $3,500.
Walker said she called the hearing to determine if the settlements violated Senate Bill 384, passed in 2007. It prohibits districts from being obligated to pay administrators for work not performed.
Testifying before the committee were Chuck Bennet of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), Oregon School Board Association legislative specialist David Williams and attorney Jim Brown, who represented both Robinson and Kneisler in their buyout agreements.
Representatives from the Lebanon and Reynolds school boards did not attend the hearing. The Lebanon School Board was not contacted until last Friday and the committee administrator did not provide details on what specifically the committee wanted to know, said board chair Josh Wineteer. Wineteer said the board was advised by legal counsel not to testify at the hearing.
Brown, who worked with COSA in drafting SB 384, said he interpreted "golden parachute" to mean superintendents cannot be given an employment contract which pays a bonus at the end. Further he said, the Reynolds and Lebanon School districts buyouts were "settlement agreements" not employment contracts, drawing a laugh from Walker.
"I get it," she said. "You got around the law."
The settlement agreement relieved the LCSD of potentially expensive litigation fees they could have incurred by firing Robinson, Brown said. Because the board had no "just and good cause" for terminating Robinson, he would have had a substantial claim for contract damages and federal civil rights violation, Brown said.
In July, Robinson filed a tort claim notice of his intent to sue Lebanon board members Rick Alexander and Josh Wineteer for violations of his contract. As part of the settlement agreement, Robinson gave up the right to sue the district or individual school board members.
Brown declined to comment when asked by Walker if Alexander and Wineteer had a conflict of interest in approving a settlement agreement which released them from potential litigation.
Sen. Frank Morse, R-Albany, suggested modifying SB 384 to limit school districts to paying out no more than one-year's salary to superintendents in settlement agreements. At the same time Morse said he recognized the need to protect superintendents from the "type of situation we had in Lebanon."
"I graduated from Lebanon and it distresses me to see the conflict it's embroiled in," Morse said. "It's embarrassing."
Walker suggested limiting the length of superintendent's employment contracts to less than the three years currently allowed.
COSA president Bennet warned doing so would create an "untenable" situation for hiring superintendents, who he likened to CEOs of multi-million dollar corporations. Many would be reluctant take a position and move their families for shorter contracts, he said.
Brown said he would advise any client considering accepting a superintendent contract which limited settlement agreements to one year's salary that they were, in essence, being offered a one-year contract.
Walker said after the hearing the committee would revisit SB 384 in the 2009 legislative session.
"I came to the conclusion the bill didn't do what I wanted," Walker said. "We'll be looking at ways to modify it to more narrowly define work not performed."