Paso superintendent could get a settlement of more than $200,000 in sudden exit
Paso Robles’ outgoing school superintendent may be eligible to receive more than $200,000 in settlement money after he leaves the district.
Superintendent Chris Williams resigned suddenly on Dec. 6 during a special meeting of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees. Williams’ last day on campus will be Dec. 22.
In a Wednesday phone interview, Williams said he resigned in a mutual agreement with the school board because he felt it was time to move on.
He said he didn’t attend the Tuesday night school board meeting because he had a conflict in his schedule, and he asked Superintendent Jim Brescia of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education to lead the meeting in his place.
When asked if he would receive a payout as a result of his resignation, Williams said the terms of his settlement were based on his contract.
Williams’ contract, approved by the board on Aug. 14, was effective from July 1 through June 30, 2022.
It lists his base salary as $214,833, although he also received a 5 percent bonus for having 10 years of comparable school administrator or management experience, according to a Tribune story from October. With the addition of the bonus, Williams was set to earn about $225,575 this year.
According to the contract, early termination of Williams’ agreement would make him eligible for a compensation settlement. He could receive a maximum cash settlement equal to his monthly salary multiplied by the number of months left on his contract.
If more than 12 months are left on Williams’ contract, the cash settlement would be capped at a year’s pay.
Williams was about five months into a 48-month agreement, so the maximum cash settlement he could receive would be equal to his annual salary.
Williams was hired by the Paso Robles district in 2014, coming from Central Unified School District in Fresno County, where he was the assistant superintendent of human resources.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Paso superintendent could get a settlement of more than $200,000 in sudden exit."
