Six months into a three-year contract, Valeria Silva may be on her way out as superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools.
School board members said Wednesday that they, along with Silva, are “presently exploring” options for moving her out of the role she’s held since December 2009.
That likely would mean a six-figure buyout as the district grapples with a $15.1 million deficit for the coming school year.
Silva, 54, has been on the hot seat since four new board members were elected in November amid widespread frustration with the direction of the school district.
Math and reading scores have fallen, student violence had teachers considering a strike, and St. Paul families increasingly are choosing charters and suburban public schools.
Silva has clashed with the new board since their first meeting in January, when newcomer Steve Marchese presented an aggressive timeline for addressing his most pressing concerns.
Silva was forced to make major adjustments to her recommended 2016-17 budget in response to parent and board complaints, and during a meeting Tuesday night, she made clear that she was not happy with the result.
Joe Nathan, the Center for School Change founder and former school district employee who supported the new slate of board members last year, supports a change in leadership. He said the past five years for the district have been the most contentious he’s witnessed in 45 years.
“I think that Valeria has done a number of good things for kids, but I think the strong contention that was displayed as recently as (Tuesday) night says it’s time to move on,” he said.
During the campaign last year, some of the new board members complained about Silva, but none said explicitly that they would remove her from her post.
The previous school board complicated matters when, in March 2015, they awarded Silva a three-year contract extension that started in December. Just two of the board members who voted for that contract, Chue Vue and Jean O’Connell, remain on the board.
Longtime board member John Brodrick cast the lone vote against the contract, and Marchese spoke against it during the meeting as a private citizen.
In private conversations earlier this year, two board members indicated that the difficulty the Minneapolis Public Schools board was having finding a permanent replacement for Bernadeia Johnson after her resignation made them nervous about embarking on their own superintendent search.
After some missteps, the Minneapolis board ultimately found two candidates they liked. They last month chose Ed Graff of Anchorage, Alaska, over Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.
Silva herself was a finalist for the superintendency in Palm Beach County, Florida last year before withdrawing from consideration in April.
Vue said in a brief interview Wednesday that more information about their contract talks with Silva could be coming “in the near future.” He indicated the board is not in full agreement on what they should do with their superintendent.
“Certainly, there are different opinions about how this should be done,” he said. “But, as with any organization, the majority will prevail.”
CONTRACT DETAILS
Silva, who is under contract through Dec. 15, 2018, said earlier this year she “definitely” intends to leave her job at that point.
An early separation could be relatively clean if both Silva and the board reach a joint agreement with a cash payout.
But if the board were to fire Silva without cause, she would get all unpaid salary, vacation and other compensation and fringe benefits she would have received over the next two and a half years.
Her remaining salary, longevity bonus and car allowance alone are worth about $600,000. She also gets 32 vacation days a year, which would be converted to cash.
Under such a scenario, however, Silva’s contract says she may not “unreasonably” refuse a different assignment in the district as a teacher, principal or administrator. And if she’s not offered a different position, she must search for a new job in education in the metro area.
If she takes another position, her termination pay would be reduced by an amount equal to the compensation in her new role.
Nathan said hiring a new superintendent who can bring families back to the school district may end up improving the district’s finances, even if Silva gets a big payout for leaving. Some 13,000 city students have left for other public schools and taken their state aid with them, he said.
The school board got word Tuesday that the district should finish the current year $3.2 million under budget, which could make a buyout easier to stomach.
The other six board members did not return phone calls Wednesday after releasing the following statement through a school district spokesman:
“Superintendent Silva’s most recent contract outlines various transition options and the accompanying obligations of the District, in the event Superintendent Silva transitions out as Superintendent. The Board and Superintendent Silva are presently exploring those options.
“Superintendent Silva has been an integral part of the St. Paul Public Schools for 29 years and her value to the students of the District is primary in those discussions. The District is committed to the mission of providing a premier education for the students entrusted to it.
“The Board will make no further comments at this time.”