Monday, August 27, 2007

Buyout to pay Felton maximum in contract

08-25-2007

The contract buyout for former Anniston Schools Superintendent Sammy Lee Felton will pay him the maximum set out by his contract.

The Anniston school board approved the buyout in a 3-2 vote Thursday night, put Felton on immediate administrative leave, and appointed long-time school system administrator Joan Frazier as interim superintendent. Frazier took over the position Friday morning.

The buyout clause in Felton’s contract requires 180 days’ notice of termination. It also requires the board to pay him one year’s salary — $111,300, based on the most recent information obtained by The Star — and a full year’s benefits package. Efforts to obtain the details of the benefits package were unsuccessful Friday.

The overall buyout package will cost the school system about $167,000, plus benefits.

Tanya Holcombe, Anniston’s chief financial officer, said Felton will continue to receive his monthly paycheck for the next six months while he is on paid administrative leave.

“We’ll pay him as if he were here,” she said.

She said she has not been told how the board will handle his year’s salary payout.

“That’s up to the board and the lawyers and what they work out,” she said.

It remained unclear how the buyout might affect the system’s overall finances.

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