To The Editor,

In an unparalleled move, the Lee County School Board added a provision to Superintendent Dr. James Browder's contract on Dec. 9, 2008. According to the provision, either party, i.e., the school board or superintendent may terminate

the contract for any reason and at any time during the life of the contract and at the time of such termination the Superintendent will receive a $342,000 pay out, an amount equal to two years' salary.

In other words if the superintendent is fired for cause, regardless of the nature of the cause, or if he resigns at any time during the term of his contract, even within days of the completion of the contract, he will receive the pay out.

In addition, at the same time that the financial provision was added to the contract, the existing ethics clause was simultaneously removed from the contract. I strongly believe that both these actions constitute abuse of the public trust and are not remotely in the best interest of the taxpayers.

Upon consulting with our board attorney, I ascertained that the State Board of Education and current Florida Statutes (Florida Statute 1001.51) offer little guidance for the development of contracts for district superintendents; however state guidelines, including ethics requirements, exist for all instructional staff. In light of the above, I am requesting that the Florida State

Legislature develop legislation or administrative rules establishing guidelines for school superintendent contracts to protect the public from future irresponsible decisions such as the ones made by this public school board.

There have been several media stories and editorial pieces that summarize this school board's action.

There has already been dismay expressed by members of the taxpaying public with regard to retirement double dipping which is attributable to a loophole in state laws governing the public retirement system.

This latest action by the Lee County School Board, the granting of a “Golden Parachute” to a public employee, a first for Florida and possibly for the nation, gives the perception that Wall Street abuses are now growing in the public sector.

Robert Chilmonik

Lee County School

Board Member,

District 1