Hillsborough School Board Terminates Superintendent's Contract For $1.1 Million

By Matt Wiley

“The motion passes to terminate the superintendent’s contract, 4-3.”

Those were the words that Hillsborough County School Board (HCSB) chair Susan Valdes spoke at the January 20 meeting in downtown Tampa to a large crowd, following the vote on the motion to terminate and buy out current Hillsborough County School District (HCSD) Superintendent MaryEllen Elia’s contract without cause. As a result, Elia will receive $1.1 million in unpaid salary and other benefits.

Elia was named “Superintendent of the Year” for the state of Florida on December 3 and currently is a finalist for top superintendent in the country.

“I feel disappointed that I’m not going to be here, leading the team in Hillsborough County any longer,” Elia said, following the deciding vote.

“For many months, there has been tension and uncertainty here in the district, not just in this building, but out in the community and the schools” Valdes told the Board as the motion was brought forward. “This was heightened with the election in November of 2014.”

Valdes blamed the rumor mill and the local media for spreading stories about possible “no confidence” votes in Elia and how different board members don’t like the superintendent. Several Board members explained that their decision was based upon their disapproval of the terms of Elia’s contract, which renews each year if she receives an “above satisfactory” rating from the Board.

“I put this motion on the agenda so this matter could be resolved openly, for all to see and with frank discussion and debate,” Valdes said. “No other reason.”

Valdes stressed that she wanted to be clear that the motion was about buying out Elia’s contract, not firing her.

“This is a business decision, not a personality contest,” she said.

The buyout of Elia’s contract, which was agreed upon in 2005, is set to pay her $878,318 in salary and benefits, as well as $233,079 in unused vacation and leave time. HCSD attorney Jim Porter laid out the three ways that the contract could be terminated. The first, without cause and requiring a buyout, is what ultimately was decided. Other options included terminating with cause, which would have required official charges and a formal hearing in front of the Board and would have required no buyout, or Elia giving six months notice and resigning.

Elia’s last day will be March 5, after which she will use her vacation time until the official end of her contract on June 30 to help draw down the buyout amount.

“(Elia’s) contract is unconscionable and is unfair to the public that I represent and to this Board,” said Dist. 3 Board member Cindy Stuart, who represents New Tampa. Stuart said that the relationship between Elia and the Board clearly was broken and not showing any signs of improving.

“My position (on the Board) has always been to vote for what I see as the rational, logical, balanced and reasonable way for us to move forward and I hope that the people who put me in this seat trust that’s what I’m going to do,” Stuart said. “I make decisions up here as if I was making them for my own family.”

Newly elected District 4 Board member Melissa Snively said that she didn’t agree with terminating Elia’s contract and felt that she was put in a “precarious” situation.

“I cannot in good conscience justify spending over one million in taxpayer money without just cause, especially when there are so many resources still needed for our schools and our students for which those funds could be utilized,” Snively said. “What I can support is leading by example.”

Sally Harris, who represents District 2, said that the ongoing contentious relationship between Elia and the Board has played a role in the low morale of HCSD employees at all levels.

“This relationship is keeping our district from moving forward,” Harris said. “In the new year, there is an opportunity to move forward, and while we embrace what works, we also need to recognize and embrace some change.”

District 6 Board member April Griffin urged the Board not to “get caught up in the cult of personality associated with this superintendent.”

Griffin said that the awards and accolades that the superintendent has received have overshadowed the students, teachers and parents of the district and that the focus needs to be “on children.”

Griffin added that Elia has strengths as a leader, but that she has held her position for nearly a decade.

“That is a long time,” Griffin said. “The fact is that her contract is weighed very heavily in her favor and not in the best interest of the taxpayers.”

Griffin says that the message she has heard from her constituents since the November election has been that it is time for change.

District 5 Board member and vice chair Dorothy Edgecomb called the meeting one of HCSD’s darkest days.

“How can I think about spending $1.1 million, when there are critical needs in my own district and throughout the county?,” she asked the Board.

Carol Kurdell, former HCSB chair who represents District 7, told Board members that she focuses on the facts and not hearsay and hurt feelings.

“I can’t in good conscience follow this motion,” Kurdell said. “It isn’t reasonable. There are too many things that I’ve seen that are ethically challenged and there’s no common sense to this for me.”

An interim superintendent likely will take over after March 5, but no one has yet been named.