DETAILS: Cobb school district superintendent's revised contract

Cobb school superintendent contract

A revised employment contract for the Cobb County School District superintendent would allow him to leave his position with full pay if a special panel determines he’s been “harassed” or “embarrassed” by school board members.

The Cobb Board of Education voted along party lines in November to revise the contract of Chris Ragsdale, who’s been superintendent since 2015.

His contract, which pays him an annual base salary of $350,000, was renewed in February to run through Feb. 10, 2024.

Under other financial terms of his contract, Ragsdale gets 25 days of paid vacation per year and an automobile allowance of $1,200 a month. The board makes contributions to his retirement, Social Security, Medicare and a tax-sheltered annuity plan, and provides health insurance for him and his family.

The revisions, which were adopted last month by the board’s four-member Republican majority without discussion or details, added provisions related to board relations and termination clauses.

You can read through the amended contract, which East Cobb News obtained through an open records request, by clicking here.

Those changes include that Ragsdale would receive 90 days advance notice from the board if he is to be terminated without cause.

There are several references in the revised contract of how disputes between him and board members would be resolved by a specially appointed resolution panel.

For the last three years, the Cobb school board has been embroiled in a number of conflicts, including racial and diversity issues and the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 response.

The split has been largely along partisan lines; the four Republicans have also passed policies to prohibit comments by board members at public meetings and have used parliamentary maneuvers to limit how the three Democrats openly question Ragsdale at those meetings.

The contract revisions were also made as the Cobb school district received the report of a special review by its accrediting agency that outlined a plan for improvement focusing largely on fractured board relations and governance issues.

That review was sparked in part by the three board Democrats and members of the public who complained about what they said was a lack of responsiveness from the district and board majority about a variety of issues, including some who want to rename Wheeler High School.

In the revised contract, Ragsdale could call for the resolution panel to determine if he “has been subjected to a sufficient level of inappropriate or unprofessional conduct by a Member or Members of the Board” and “interfering with his performance of his professional duties or those of District employees directly reporting to him.”

That panel also could determine if board members cast him “in a false light, embarrass him or otherwise undermine his ability to be effective in the performance of his duties.”

If a panel determines that “sufficient harassment exists,” that body could make recommendations to prevent the behavior from continuing.

However, Ragsdale “may determine whether they are sufficient,” and if they are not, the board would “treat this is a termination without cause” and pay him “the balance of all compensation” through the end of his contract.

The revised contract also outlines how the resolution panel would be chosen, composed of a hearing officer and three others with “academic expertise.”

The school board would bear the burden of proof “and must offer clear and convincing evidence” that the SUPERINTENDENT’s suspension or termination is merited for the reasons permitted by this Contract,” the contract states.

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