Saturday, April 26, 2003

LL board, superintendent agree he'll retire

Burnett to receive $110,000 to pay off his contract, plus benefits

Jennifer Harmon News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jharmon@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas

Philisophical differences have driven the Los Lunas School Board to reach a retirement agreement with Superintendent Danny Burnett.

On Tuesday night, the board voted 4 to 1 to pay Burnett $110,965 prior to the expiration of his contract on June 30, 2005. Burnett will use up the rest of his sick leave days and retire two years early on June 30 of this year.

Burnett will receive a grand total of $160,000 in the deal with the district. The board agreed to pay $19,549 in salary and benefits accrued for the remainder of the 2002-03 school year and $29,484 in accumulated annual and sick leave for a total of approximately $49,000, money he has already earned.

The superintendent currently earns just over $100,000 per year — $406 a day — and has amassed a little more than 72 days of leave.

Board President Art Castillo said that, during the past couple of months, the school board and the superintendent have expressed different views on how to accomplish their goals. "In light of the circumstances, Mr. Burnett expressed his interest for the board to buy out his contract," Castillo said.

"We discussed that possibility over the past several weeks. Mr. Burnett and his attorney and I reached an agreement that is in the best interest of everyone — the students, faculty and staff of the Los Lunas Schools and the community of Los Lunas."

Castillo said the money will probably be paid in one lump sum no later than July 10. He said the reserve account currently totals $848,246.

John Kern was the only board member to oppose the agreement. He spoke against buying out the remainder of Burnett's contract. "Most everybody knows about my close personal friendship with Mr. Burnett. I think the world of him," Kern said.

"Interestingly enough, three weeks ago, this board was worried about money available in the budget and the shortfalls we have. I find it very difficult to look at this and support it. If Mr. Burnett wants to retire this year, he should be able to retire. I'm not taking any action to hasten that retirement.

"Still, I have difficulty approving a buy-out agreement for this — the consequences of this $110,000 we don't have available for kids. I just have a problem with a buy-out of this magnitude," Kern said.

Following the meeting, Kern said that no matter how you look at it, the reserve fund is still a substantial amount of money. "You can dress it up any way you want. One-hundred-thousand-dollars is still $100,000. One-hundred-thousand-dollars for emergencies is now gone. We can't use that for something else. That's more than 10 percent of the reserve funds."

The board stressed that no money was spent out of the budget for children. Funding for the retirement agreement comes from the district's emergency reserve fund.

"This was reserve money that Mr. Burnett advised the board we had," said Board Vice President Maria Maez.

Marez said that, on March 6, Burnett's personal attorney wrote to the board indicating Burnett's belief that the board intended to discharge him. She said it was Burnett who suggested the board begin negotiations to buy out his contract.

Burnett, who is out of town due to family illness, could not be reached for comment. Messages left for his attorney were not returned.

"I did not see this as a sign of intention to cooperate with me as a newly elected board membe,r or to work with the board in achieving its goals," Marez said of the philosophical differences with Burnett. "Unfortunately, from my perspective, the situation has not improved."

Other factors were part of Marez's decision. She described how her campaign was based on the platform of reducing administrative costs and allocating more funds for teachers and students — where she says they are needed most. "Los Lunas Schools currently has 52 administrators at a cost of over $3.5 million per year, with some administrative secretaries making more money than teachers who have a master's degree plus 15 additional hours of education and 24 years experience."

Burnett was given a multi-year contract in excess of $500,000, according to Marez. In addition, he was given a new suburban to use and other benefits, she said. "The results of my election indicate a wide margin of victory for myself. I believe these results stunned not only the incumbent but also some administrators in the Los Lunas Schools."

Board Member Del Conroy said he had concerns that the central administration in the district was "top-heavy" with too many administrators, including six assistant superintendents. "During my campaign, I suggested more open communication within the district and the board. It's no secret Superintendent Burnett and I have philosophical differences with regard to achieving our goals and his communication and management style," Conroy said.

"Not one red cent of our kid's money is being spent on this," said Conroy. "This is all unallocated funds we need to keep for emergencies such as this. It can't be used for (teacher's) salaries. And I made sure to check on bonding issues, and the interest rate we pay them will not go up."

In the next three weeks, the board will be looking for a new superintendent. Deputy Superin-tendent Bill Moffatt will act as superintendent on an interim basis for the Los Lunas Schools.

"As a community, I am certain that we will be able to work together in selecting a new superintendent and achieving educational excellence and success in the district. After all, this is really about our children's education and preparing them for a successful future," Conroy said.

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