Superintendent reaches $400,000 deal with school board

Lebanon schools superintendent Jim Robinson, 60, resigned Monday night after the school board accepted, by a 4-1 vote, an agreement negotiated between the board's legal counsel and the superintendent and his attorney. In exchange for giving up his right to sue the board and individual board members, Robinson leaves the district with a compensation package worth about $400,000.

The deal came after several weeks of negotiation and a month after the board passed a resolution calling for Robinson's resignation. Before the meeting started Monday, Robinson agreed, in principle, to resign, sparking a furious round of negotiations that continued after the board adjourned from an hour-long executive session to its regularly scheduled board meeting. The final deal signed by Robinson was reached at 9:30 p.m.

Board chair Josh Wineteer told a packed audience at the beginning of the meeting that work was underway on a deal to have Robinson resign immediately. After the board went back into executive session at 8:30 p.m. to review the resignation deal, most of the crowd waited nearly an hour to hear the details of the agreement.

Under terms of the deal, Robinson will receive pay and benefits, paid monthly, until the expiration of his current contract on June 30, 2010. This includes 38 days of accrued vacation, a $2,000 annual travel allowance and health insurance until he is 65. Additionally, the district will pay Robinson's attorney fees related to the agreement, about $5,400, and remove from his personnel file the 2008 board evaluation of his performance.

Robinson earlier this year filed a tort claim notice against Wineteer and fellow board member Rick Alexander for their actions regarding his annual evaluation. Under Monday's agreement, the tort claim notice is dropped and Robinson forfeits the right to sue the district and the board for any past actions.

Assistant Superintendent Steve Kelley is the acting superintendent. According to the settlement terms, the board agreed to consult with the Oregon School Board Association in choosing an interim superintendent in the near future and to conduct a search for a regular superintendent later.

Board member Chris Fisher criticized the agreement as a "blank check" before voting no and accused the board of giving Robinson too much.

"I don't believe in giving someone money without them performing," he said.

Fisher argued the agreement, by paying Robinson and his replacement for the next two years, could cost the district $500,000 to $600,000.

"That could hire a lot teachers, solve a lot problems," Fisher said.

Alexander defended the buy-out deal as necessary.

"The board has to look long term at what the board deems in the best interest of the community and school district," Alexander said.

Russ McUne, who was appointed to the board in July, while agreeing the deal came at a price, praised Robinson for resigning and allowing the district to move forward .

"It's a huge amount of money, paying for things that happened in the past, hopefully to prevent things from happening in the future," McUne said.

Her voice shaking with emotion, board member Debi Shimmin said the constant fighting over the same few issues had left her exhausted.

"I do understand it's a lot of money, but I want to come to the board meetings and talk about the kids," Shimmin said. "I want to hear about what's going on in Riverview and Pioneer and what the kids are doing. This district has to heal. It's not going to heal under the current situation."

"Progress is sometimes expensive," Wineteer said. "I don't think there is anyone who will disagree there's been a huge polarizing affect in the district the last years. My hope is that it will resolve and not be such an issue in the future."

Robinson was not present in the boardroom Monday evening. In an interview afterward, he said he had agreed to quit after concluding there was little to be gained by fighting the board's call for his resignation.

"You consider under the law what's to be gained by not resigning. One thing is you continue the turmoil in town, which this town has long needed respite from," Robinson said.

The board's vote to accept the resignation agreement came one day before votes are tallied in a recall election aimed at Wineteer and Alexander. The Lebanon Citizens Alliance for a Responsible Education System (CARES) initiated the recall effort in June.

Before adjourning the meeting, Wineteer addressed the audience, saying he was pleased to see the reinvigorated community interest in schools and criticizing CARES for using "mistruths" to acquire signatures to put the recall on the ballot.

John "Tre" Kennedy, CARES president, issued a press release Monday night saying it appeared Wineteer and Alexander had voted to use money that could have been spent on teachers and education to settle potential lawsuits against them.

"We see the board's vote as a general admission that their earlier actions with respect to the superintendent were unlawful and exposed the district to substantial liability," Kennedy wrote.