Ex-York tech school director paid as part of settlement
September 02, 2009 RTK request stories | York Co.
By NICHOLE DOBO
[York] Daily Record/Sunday News
The former director of the York School of Technology is still on the payroll.
James A. Kraft, who resigned June 30, is entitled to full salary and benefits until the end of March 2010 as part of an agreement that stemmed from "disputes" between the school and Kraft, according to the agreement he signed June 19.
Read the settlement agreement.
The school's board of directors voted to accept his resignation June 25 but did not disclose that it was part of a financial settlement agreement, or that he would be paid about nine months' salary and health benefits -- unless he finds a job that will pay him the same amount or more, according to the agreement.
The directors didn't disclose the settlement agreement at the time because that's what their personnel attorney recommended, said Supt. Barbara Rupp of the South Western School District, who is the acting superintendent for the tech school.
After accepting his resignation at the June 25 meeting, the board voted on an agreement to hire Kraft as a "consultant" on technical issues.
The settlement agreement, which the Daily Record/Sunday News obtained after a right-to-know request, specifies that he will be paid his weekly salary from June 30 until March 31. Rupp said late Wednesday she could not recall his weekly salary. According to an online database by the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he was paid $123,355 in 2006-2007. Using that salary as an example, his nine-month settlement would be $86,000.
He will get that payment whether he actually does any consulting work, according to the agreement. If he finds a job before March 31 that pays less than the technical school salary, the tech school will pay him the difference. If the job pays more, the tech school will stop paying him.
Rupp said she isn't aware of any consulting work Kraft has done since his resignation. There hasn't been a need for it yet, she said, because the school year just began.
Kraft couldn't be reached for comment.
According to the settlement agreement, the school and Kraft were having "certain disputes." By signing, the school would "forego disciplinary and demotion proceedings" against Kraft.
Those disputes stemmed from a "difference of agreement in the direction of the school," and the school needed someone with "a different skill set," Rupp said. When asked for elaboration, she said:
"This was a mutual agreement. He is still a consultant to the technical school. When we need to we will still consult him. He still has a job and is still a consultant."
The board of directors did not vote on the settlement agreement upon advice from the district's personnel attorney, Rupp said. It was not necessary because they voted on his resignation and hiring as a consultant, she said.
The board had a right to negotiate the agreement in private, but it probably should have disclosed that the final agreement existed by voting on it at a public meeting, said Craig J. Staudenmaier, an attorney with Harrisburg-based Nauman Smith Shissler and Hall,.
The technical school has advertised for a new director. In the meantime, Scott Rogers, the assistant director, has been filling in. He declined to comment Wednesday.
The school has undergone some changes this year, including a change that gave students the ability to take technical classes part time. There's also been a renewed focus on academics, Rupp said. Students used to rotate weeks of technical education with weeks of academics. Now they have both every day, she said.
During his 11-year tenure with the technical school, Kraft ushered in important changes, Rupp said. He instituted career academies and oversaw a $54 million renovation project.
"I think Jim did a wonderful job," Rupp said.
York County school districts are members of the technical school, which is run by a board made up of representatives from each district's school board. As part of the agreement that created the technical school, superintendents from each school take a turn being the acting superintendent.
[York] Daily Record/Sunday News
The former director of the York School of Technology is still on the payroll.
James A. Kraft, who resigned June 30, is entitled to full salary and benefits until the end of March 2010 as part of an agreement that stemmed from "disputes" between the school and Kraft, according to the agreement he signed June 19.
Read the settlement agreement.
The school's board of directors voted to accept his resignation June 25 but did not disclose that it was part of a financial settlement agreement, or that he would be paid about nine months' salary and health benefits -- unless he finds a job that will pay him the same amount or more, according to the agreement.
The directors didn't disclose the settlement agreement at the time because that's what their personnel attorney recommended, said Supt. Barbara Rupp of the South Western School District, who is the acting superintendent for the tech school.
After accepting his resignation at the June 25 meeting, the board voted on an agreement to hire Kraft as a "consultant" on technical issues.
The settlement agreement, which the Daily Record/Sunday News obtained after a right-to-know request, specifies that he will be paid his weekly salary from June 30 until March 31. Rupp said late Wednesday she could not recall his weekly salary. According to an online database by the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he was paid $123,355 in 2006-2007. Using that salary as an example, his nine-month settlement would be $86,000.
He will get that payment whether he actually does any consulting work, according to the agreement. If he finds a job before March 31 that pays less than the technical school salary, the tech school will pay him the difference. If the job pays more, the tech school will stop paying him.
Rupp said she isn't aware of any consulting work Kraft has done since his resignation. There hasn't been a need for it yet, she said, because the school year just began.
Kraft couldn't be reached for comment.
According to the settlement agreement, the school and Kraft were having "certain disputes." By signing, the school would "forego disciplinary and demotion proceedings" against Kraft.
Those disputes stemmed from a "difference of agreement in the direction of the school," and the school needed someone with "a different skill set," Rupp said. When asked for elaboration, she said:
"This was a mutual agreement. He is still a consultant to the technical school. When we need to we will still consult him. He still has a job and is still a consultant."
The board of directors did not vote on the settlement agreement upon advice from the district's personnel attorney, Rupp said. It was not necessary because they voted on his resignation and hiring as a consultant, she said.
The board had a right to negotiate the agreement in private, but it probably should have disclosed that the final agreement existed by voting on it at a public meeting, said Craig J. Staudenmaier, an attorney with Harrisburg-based Nauman Smith Shissler and Hall,.
The technical school has advertised for a new director. In the meantime, Scott Rogers, the assistant director, has been filling in. He declined to comment Wednesday.
The school has undergone some changes this year, including a change that gave students the ability to take technical classes part time. There's also been a renewed focus on academics, Rupp said. Students used to rotate weeks of technical education with weeks of academics. Now they have both every day, she said.
During his 11-year tenure with the technical school, Kraft ushered in important changes, Rupp said. He instituted career academies and oversaw a $54 million renovation project.
"I think Jim did a wonderful job," Rupp said.
York County school districts are members of the technical school, which is run by a board made up of representatives from each district's school board. As part of the agreement that created the technical school, superintendents from each school take a turn being the acting superintendent.
