The Bainbridge Island School Board was expected to approve a new contract for District Superintendent Peter Bang-Knudsen at its meeting this week.
The three-year contract will run from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022.
The employment agreement includes a salary increase of $18,036 above the salary of $168,000 set in his original contract.
Bang-Knudsen’s new base salary is set at $186,036 a year, and will take effect July 1.
The school board was set to review the new contract at its meeting this week, its final meeting before Bang-Knudsen’s current contract expires on June 30.
The new four-page contract also provides for $3,000 a year for Bang-Knudsen to use for “professional growth activities” that include workshops, courses, technology purchases and other expenditures. The superintendent will also be reimbursed for out-of-district mileage expenses and other reimbursements for official business.
The agreement includes 30 days of paid vacation each year, and 12 paid holidays. Bang-Knudsen can stockpile up to 40 days of unused vacation, and will be paid up to 30 days of unused vacation when he leaves the superintendent’s post.
Also in the contract, Bang-Knudsen will get a term life insurance policy for $100,000.
The employment agreement also dictates how Bang-Knudsen can leave his job.
The board can terminate his employment without just cause by providing 90 days written notice. If Bang-Knudsen is dismissed without just cause, he will receive a severance package up to 18 months of his annual salary (which would amount to $279,054).
Bang-Knudsen can also exit the contract for “good reason” by giving 90 days written notice.
Under that provision of the contract, he would also receive a departure payment of $279,054.
“Good reason” is defined in the agreement as:
A material diminution in the superintendent’s authority, duties or responsibilities;
A requirement that the superintendent report to another person or entity other than reporting directly to the school board; and
Any action or inaction that constitutes a material breach of the employment contract by the school board or school district.
Bang-Knudsen was hired as superintendent in April 2016. He was promoted his job as the school district’s associate superintendent of administrative services.
