The bill, approved unanimously by the Senate Education Committee, would require severance packages to be detailed upfront in contracts that are public records. It also would impose caps on the value of buyouts that are negotiated later by school boards and superintendents who agree not to follow the contract.
Other limits would apply to compensation for unused sick leave for new hires who have no prior experience as a superintendent or assistant superintendent.
The bill was spurred by high-profile superintendent buyouts in Philadelphia, Allentown and other school districts that Education Committee Chairman Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, the bill’s sponsor, said are costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The caps on negotiated buyouts would limit superintendents or assistant superintendents who leave less than two years before their contract ends to a buyout that doesn’t exceed half of the total compensation and benefits due under the remaining contract. Superintendents or assistant superintendents who leave more than two years before their contracts end could collect up to the equivalent of one year’s compensation and benefits due under the contract.
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