After board members voted unanimously to ratify an agreement ending Dr. Suzanne Freeman’s run as Trussville City Schools’ first superintendent, they began to plan for the future. The process needs happen quickly, but board members hope to make deliberate steps toward the future. Under Alabama law, the school system must have a superintendent in place, whether interim or permanent, to conduct day to day business.
While school leaders are pleased with the level of interest in the superintendent and the high school principal positions, many of the candidates come with challenges. Some of the individuals are currently under contract with other systems and some of the interim candidates are limited by what they can earn under Retirement Systems of Alabama rules. The board may find themselves looking to the school saga being played out in Birmingham City Schools for ideas on out to proceed.
“We’ve got sitting superintendents who are interested in full time employment with our system,” board member Sid McNeal said. “Although that is an unlikely scenario at this point, I think it just speaks to the fact that people are interested in Trussville City Schools. We’ve got people who have that experience, but are in retirement
. We’ve got people who are otherwise employed, not as a superintendent, but in other capacities. We’ve just got a generous amount of interest.”
RSA rules only allow retirees to earn $22,000 per year through a state school system. The Birmingham News reported yesterday that Ed Richardson, who the state board of education named to oversee Birmingham City Schools following a state takeover, is being paid by a third party to avoid exceeding the RSA limit. The state retirement system allows the third party process as long as it is only temporary, according to the article.
“I think that is a situation that we will look at closely to see if it could work for us,” McNeal said, indicating the board would prefer an interim superintendent for the present tme.
The extensive laws governing Alabama schools and retirement program proved cumbersome even during the negotiations to buy out Freeman’s contract. The former superintendent had just begun a new four year contract on July 1, which had been approved last December as the agreement called for.
Her contract called for a salary of about $214,000 with a 4.5 percent raise each year. In addition to the salary, the contract called for 4 percent contribution to a retirement annuity and an automobile allowance of $750 per month, and insurance. The four year total would have been over $900,000, but board president Bill Roberts and board attorney Donald Sweeney were able to negotiate the buyout down to $600,000 over the next two years. Freeman will remain on the payroll during that time which will work toward her retirement. She will not maintain an office, but will work from home.
“I’ve never seen anything this complicated,” Board Vice-President Danny Garrett said. “As a board, a lot of people don’t understand the constraints that we work under. Our goal is to get this thing behind us and move forward because we really do believe that we’re a diamond in the rough. Whatever has happened in the past has brought us to this point. We have excellent facilities, we have excellent faculty. We’re just ready to move forward.”