Board buys out Crawford’s contract

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: November 13, 2008

The Orange County School Board voted last week to terminate the employment agreement of Orange County Schools Superintendent Dr. William Crawford, effective immediately.
Per an agreement signed by Crawford and school board members, Crawford will be paid the balance of his salary and benefits through the duration of his contract, which will expire in June 2009
In May 2008, the school board chose not to renew Crawford’s employment contract. Orange County School Board Chairman Jerry Bledsoe said then that the school board’s decision was based on a personnel issue, taken care of in a closed session. Since the board opted not to renew his contract, no vote was taken, or necessary in open session. At the time the decision not to renew Crawford’s contract was announced, school officials said the superintendent would remain in office for the duration of his contract and the search for a replacement was to begin immediately.
Crawford was hired in 2005 by a unanimous school board vote. The board then consisted of Steve Funkhouser (District 1), John Reid (District 2), Delores Darnell (District 3), Ron Burleson (District 4) and Mike Ross (District 5). None of those five remain on the board.
At Wednesday’s meeting, board members Donna Waugh-Robinson (District 2) Carter (District 3), Bledsoe (District 4), and Jim Hopkins (District 5), voted in favor of terminating Crawford’s employment agreement. District 1 School Board member Chris Haney abstained from the vote.
“I don’t agree with the process,“ he said. Haney added that he was disappointed, but he understood the school board and Crawford had worked together to reach the agreement.
On Oct. 7, the school board issued a press release explaining the decision to terminate Crawford’s contract.
“The board and the superintendent have agreed that this is a termination “not for cause” under the terms of his employment agreement,“ the press release stated. “The school board wishes to thank Dr. Crawford for his service to the school system and the community.“
The agreement also indicates Crawford will not pursue legal action against the board. Additionally, there is a non-disparagement clause which stipulates that neither Crawford nor members of the school board will “disparage, criticize, or speak negatively of the other in any public, official or business context, including in the context of the board giving references to future potential employers of the superintendent.“
A letter, included in the legal agreement and signed by Bledsoe, credits Crawford with a successful K-2 reading initiative, implementation of the AVID program, development of gifted programming, and expansion of career and technical education offerings, among other accomplishments.
“[Crawford] has been instrumental in the initiation and establishment of several systemic initiatives that have benefitted our system,“ the letter reads.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Carter announced that current assistant superintendent Roy Walton would assume the role of acting superintendent for the remainder of the school year, or until a permanent replacement for Crawford is hired.
But recently, Bledsoe said the school board may hire an interim superintendent to replace Crawford and remain on staff until a permanent school superintendent has been hired.
“We are going to look into the possibility of hiring an interim superintendent to come to Orange County and bridge the gap between Dr. Crawford’s tenure ending and hiring a new superintendent.“ Bledsoe said a likely candidate for the interim position might be a retired superintendent that could assume Crawford’s position for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year. “We’re looking for a different set of eyes and ears coming to the system. We’re not just looking for a body coming here and saying ‘I’m superintendent.‘ “
Bledsoe said that in particular, the school system’s budget process for the next fiscal year is an area where he thinks the school board could benefit from the experience of an interim superintendent with vast experience.
“We’ve all heard concerns about the availability of funds for the new middle school. As far as state and federal funding, we know its going to be cut. It’s going to be tough because we have our budget at bare bones,“ Bledsoe said. In the current budget, cuts were made where possible in order to fund a salary increase for teachers, he added. “We dove in our budget as deep as we can go. The experience of a superintendent who’s been through this might bring us some of the insight we need. The board is looking at trying to plan for the future.“
The board may be planning for the future, but parents and county school staff want answers about more recent events.
Bledsoe said he has heard from community members who expressed disapproval of the way the board handled Crawford’s contract termination. In particular, he said, community members have been disapproving that the announcement was made at a public meeting with Crawford present.
“It’s hard for some people to understand how you make those decisions,“ Bledsoe said. Because of the language in the contract signed by both Crawford and the school board, the details of the agreement cannot be divulged, Bledsoe said. “It’s like that to protect everyone involved.“
Conditions in the agreement to terminate Crawford’s contract prevent those involved from discussing details, Bledsoe said.
“When you can’t come out with A, B and C as rationale, it’s hard for some people to understand how you make those decisions,“ Bledsoe explained. “The community has to put some faith in the board they elected,“ he said. “We’re elected to make the hard decisions.”
And according to Bledsoe, last Wednesday’s announcement was no shock to school officials.
“It was a professional agreement that we worked on together,“ he explained. “It wasn’t a surprise to Dr. Crawford. The document was signed [by Crawford] before the board received it. The other night at the meeting was not the first time Dr. Crawford had seen it. It was a work in progress between the board and the superintendent. I think we handled it as professionally as we could for our situation. It was a bad situation.“