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Oakland Schools'
Top Job Safe For Now
But, the
probe has sparked a hotbed of controversy regarding Redmond and
his more than $270,000 annual contract, which protects him from
being fired for any reason. The contract doesn't expire until
Sept. 1, 2006.
from Diana Dillaber
Murray, Oakland Press, January 4, 2003
For more articles visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
But, the probe
has sparked a hotbed of controversy regarding Redmond and his
more than $270,000 annual contract, which protects him from
being fired for any reason. The contract doesn't expire until
Sept. 1, 2006.
At least for the time being, Oakland Schools Superintendent
James Redmond will keep his job.
"We are not considering terminations of anyone right now,"
said Helen Prutow, president of the intermediate school
district's Board of Education.
The Whall Group, a forensics investigational firm looking into
allegations of wrongdoing at Oakland Schools, does not
recommend the district fire its top administrator, Prutow
said.
The Oakland Schools board met for more than nine hours behind
closed doors Friday with Redmond, Whall officials and
attorneys to review the firm's 98-page report.
Prutow said the board will consider the Whall Group's
recommendations, which could mean some changes in policies and
procedures at the taxpayer-funded Oakland Schools, which
oversees the county's 28 public school districts.
After the Whall report is released to the public on Tuesday,
the board may continue to look at how the district operates,
board Trustee Carol Borich said.
The nearly
six-month investigation of operations at the intermediate
school district led Whall analysts to examine Redmond's role
as chairman of nonprofit and for-profit companies that are
hired by Oakland Schools, as well as other allegations made by
employees.
The MINDS Institute, which was founded in 2000 by Redmond and
several others, is funded by the Oakland Schools. It in turn
pays for the work of an affiliated for-profit group, which
employs Redmond's son and the
daughter of Deputy Superintendent Jan Van Dam.
Redmond has
asked that the Friday meeting and three previous closed
sessions be private, which is his right under the personnel
exemption of the Open Meetings Act, Prutow has said. He
maintains that everything is aboveboard, and said legal
counsel advised him that there would be no conflict in his
work with the MINDS Institute or its for-profit affiliates.
Whall also has looked into the legality of funding for the
new, $29 million Oakland Schools building under construction.
The district now operates out of a building at 2100 Pontiac
Lake Road in Waterford Township, but plans to move to the new
building across the street. The opening of the new building
has been delayed until spring or summer because of the cold
weather and a snag in paving the nearby parking lot.
The probe has
sparked a hotbed of controversy regarding Redmond and his more
than $270,000 annual contract, which protects him from being
fired for any reason. The contract doesn't expire until Sept.
1, 2006.
A clause in Redmond's previous contract, which expired in
2002, would have allowed the board to fire him mid-term for
"acts of moral turpitude," but that was removed in June from
his new contract.
Prutow said the board was unaware the moral turpitude clause
was removed from Redmond's new contract.
She added that
details of Redmond's contract will be discussed at a later
date.
In addition to his base pay of $174,000, Redmond receives
other perks outlined in his four-year contract, such as:
An annual
$11,000 tax shelter annuity
A $400 goal incentive for each two-week pay period.
A $500 auto expense stipend per pay period.
An expense account of $400 per pay period with no receipts
required.
Reimbursement for unlimited expenses submitted with written
documentation.
Use of a personal cell phone.
A $200 per month payment on universal life insurance above and
beyond other executives at Oakland Schools.
A monthly payment of $2,478 to buy credit in the state
retirement system.
A monthly payment of $1,041 to offset a deduction for
retirement.
A monthly payment of $1,047 to offset Social Security
contributions taken from his paycheck.
The five-member school board, whose members are elected by
local districts' school boards, sets policy and is charged
with hiring the superintendent to run day-to-day operations.
Members are: Prutow, Borich and trustees Tony Rothschild,
Janet R. Thomas and DiAnne Cagle Leitermann.
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