Director of Schools Mark Willoughby may have to step down sooner than he had planned.
One week after Willoughby announced his retirement, effective June 30th, the Board of Education held a special called meeting Monday night for the purpose of “discussing the Director’s Contract”. At least some members of the board apparently are interested in cutting ties with Willoughby as soon as possible and offering him a buyout through June 30th. The cost of a buyout to the school system would be approximately $28,000 according to Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III.
Director Willoughby sent an electronic notice to members of the Board of Education last Monday, March 16 announcing his retirement as of June 30th, one hundred seven days in advance. But once notice is given, is the board obligated to him in any way beyond 30 days under the contract?
During the special meeting Monday night, the board voted to defer action until another special meeting on April 6 to provide enough time to obtain a legal opinion from an attorney on the meaning of a section of Willoughby’s contract regarding “Contract Termination” referred to as “Unilateral Termination by the Director”. That section states that “The Director may terminate this contract at any time, at his sole discretion, by giving the BOARD 30 days written notice of his resignation. In the event of such termination, the DIRECTOR shall have no right or entitlement to any severance pay and shall be entitled to the salary and benefits unpaid through the effective date of resignation or retirement”.
“It’s the opinion of many and as I look at it I see it myself, it (notice) doesn’t coincide with the “Unilateral Termination by the Director” and all I would suggest is that we postpone this until the Monday after Spring Break, Monday April 6 so we can get an attorney to look at this and make sure we are doing the right thing by the four corners of this contract. If the attorney out of Hamilton County who deals with these contracts says it’s okay to go ahead and pay the Director then we can pay the Director and go about our business and be done with it. I want to make sure we’re in compliance with this contract,” said Chairman Evins.
If the board does vote to buyout Director Willoughby’s contract, they would have to find the money and then name someone to serve as interim director until a new director is under contract. “We need to talk to members of the county commission and county mayor and if they say it’s good to go maybe we can pull this money out of the sinking fund (local option sales tax fund) and not affect our budget. That will give us an opportunity to find an interim director. I know we can go a few days without one but we can’t go for very long,” Chairman Evins said.
All members voted to defer action until a special meeting on April 6 at 7:00 p.m. except Jerry Wayne Johnson and Jim Beshearse, who passed.