Clintonville superintendent’s agreement incudes $31,875 payment
By Bert Lehman
David Dyb, superintendent for the Clintonville School District, will receive a payment of $31,875 when he officially resigns on June 30, the end of the current school year.
The payment is equivalent to three months of salary.
The school board originally discussed Dyb’s resignation in closed session at a March 22 board meeting, and accepted Dyb’s resignation effective June 30, “pending mutual agreement of terms and conditions.”
The official statement from Lori Poppe, then school board president, was sent to the media the following day.
The statement read: “After returning to open session the Clintonville Board of Education during the March 22, 2021 meeting, took action to grant Dr. David Dyb a release of his contract effective June 30, 2021 for the purposes of his voluntary resignation from the District pending mutual agreement of terms and conditions.
“The Board of Education thanks Dr. Dyb for his hard work and dedication over the last four years with the District and the Clintonville community.
“The Board wishes Dr. Dyb well in his future professional endeavors.”
In the days following the meeting, Dyb told the Clintonville Tribune-Gazette that this school year has been challenging, and he will be leaving school administration to return to the classroom and teach at a school in another state.
Questions
On March 28, the Tribune-Gazette emailed Poppe three questions regarding the statement she released about Dyb’s resignation.
• The press release statement by you stated, “pending mutual agreement of terms and conditions.” When will these terms and conditions be discussed and available to the public?
• Will these terms and conditions include Dyb receiving any portion of his salary for the final year of his contract that he is being released from?
• If it does include Dyb receiving any portion of his salary for the final year of his contract, why would this be the case if it is a “voluntary resignation?”
The Tribune-Gazette did not receive a response from Poppe.
Since the March 22 board meeting, none of the board meeting agendas contained an action item regarding the “pending mutual agreement of terms and conditions” regarding Dyb’s resignation.
But the district had already began the process of searching for a new superintendent.
On April 27, the Tribune-Gazette emailed Dyb, asking if he and the board had come to a mutual agreement on his resignation, when the agreement was acted on by the board and if the agreement had been released to the public.
Dyb responded via email that the resignation agreement was formally signed by Poppe on April 12.
“The board just needed to have a waiver/release of claims reviewed by their legal counsel,” Dyb said in the email.
The Tribune-Gazette then filed an Open Records Request to obtain a copy of the resignation agreement between Dyb and the school board.
The Tribune-Gazette received a copy of the resignation agreement on April 30.
Resignation agreement
Dyb’s agreement with the board calls for his resignation to be effective at the end of business on June 30, but the resignation date could be earlier than that date if Dyb and the board mutually “determine that an earlier date is in the best interest of the parties.”
The wording of the statement released by Poppe on March 23 was also agreed upon in the agreement.
As stated, the resignation agreement calls for Dyb to receive a lump sum payment of $31,875, which is equivalent to three months of salary.
Dyb will continue to be covered under the district’s family health and dental insurance at district rates through July 31.
The agreement calls for Dyb not to receive “remuneration of unused and accrued sick leave days effective with the release of contract date (June 30, 2021)” and “the District shall not make a contribution to Dr. Dyb’s HRA post-employment account or Health plan HRA.”
Dyb “shall receive payment of all unused and accrued vacation days with the June 30, 2021 payroll” following the language of his contract.
If requested, the agreement calls for the district to provide Dyb “a copy of a mutually agreeable letter of reference.”
This letter, and only this letter of reference, is to be used for any employment inquiries regarding Dyb, according to the agreement.
For unemployment insurance purposes, the district “shall respond by stating that his resignation was voluntary.”
Also included in the agreement, “This Resignation Agreement and Waiver/Release of Claims shall not be construed as an admission of any wrongdoing or liability of any nature whatsoever of any party hereto. The parties acknowledge that Dr. Dyb has not alleged any employment or contractual claims against the District, and as partial consideration for the compensation received hereunder releases the District from any liability as to his employment except with respect to worker’s compensation or other claims which cannot be released as a matter of law. Nothing herein should be construed to limit Dr. Dyb’s right to enforce the terms of this Agreement.”
The agreement also includes language calling for both parties not to make “disparaging comments about one another.”
In addition, the agreement includes language that prevents the release of the details of the agreement to the public, except by an open records request.
According to the official minutes from the March 22 board meeting, every board member voted in favor of this agreement.