Each year the ACSA Professional Standards Department assists more than 100 California superintendents with their contracts. In the past four years, 400-plus superintendents have utilized this ACSA service. In the following article, ACSA asked Professional Standards Advocates Lloyd Wamhof and Pat Souza to respond to a series of questions about superintendent contracts.

Question: Is this service available to ACSA members free of charge?

Wamhof: Yes, this service is provided as a benefit to active members as part of their ACSA dues. There are no additional fees for this service.

Question: Do you assist other administrators with their contracts if they request your help?

Souza: Yes. In fact, each year we get requests for assistance from deputy, associate and assistant superintendents as well as other district level administrators, including principals.

Question: What kind of requests do you get?

Wamhof: Requests often come from new superintendents who are entering into their first contract. They are unfamiliar with the process and ask for help with the contract language as well as strategies for negotiating with their board. Experienced superintendents often ask for a review and recommendations about updating language and/or changing language to provide for additional benefits. Superintendents who are reaching the end of their careers usually want to just make sure their contract language is in order.

Question: Do you assist superintendents in negotiating their contracts?

Souza: No, but we do provide coaching and suggest strategies for negotiating a contract that provides appropriate benefits for the superintendent based on current trends. We are also available throughout the process to discuss issues that may arise.

Question: Can you give us an example of the support you provide?

Souza: I recently worked through the negotiating process with a new superintendent who called five different times to ask for advice while she was in the actual process with the board. This is very common for new superintendents because negotiating the contract for the first time can be both challenging and intimidating.

Question: What are some of the challenges in assisting members with their contracts?

Wamhof: One of the challenges is the quick turn around time required in some of these situations. Several weeks ago a superintendent emailed me a contract on Friday afternoon for a new position he had been offered and it needed to be turned in to the board’s attorney on Monday afternoon, so we worked over the weekend to get it finished. In another situation, a first-time superintendent was asked to return her contract within 24 hours!

Question: If you were to select the most important clause in a superintendent contract what would it be?

Souza: All of the clauses in a contract are important; however, one of the most critical is the Termination Without Cause section. A board may make the decision to unilaterally, without cause, to terminate a superintendent. We want to make sure this section of the contract is written properly so the superintendent is provided compensation for 18 months with benefits. When a board enters into a contract with a superintendent they enter into a legally binding agreement. If they wish, for reasons of their own, to terminate the contract, it is important that the superintendent is compensated fairly and within the limits of the government code.

Question: Do you assist superintendents who have been terminated without cause?

Wamhof: Yes. Last year we assisted 30 superintendents who were terminated without cause and so far this year we have worked with 14. Pat and I both are currently working with superintendents who were recently terminated. We can’t stress enough how important it is for a superintendent to have protective language in this section of their contract!

Question: Do you offer contract presentations around the state?

Souza: Yes. Lloyd and I just completed a presentation for the Sacramento ACSA Superintendents Academy and will be doing two presentations at the Superintendents Symposium in Monterey this week. One of the presentations is for the Leading the Leaders cohort and the other is open to any superintendent wanting to attend (Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.). Last year 120 superintendents participated in this presentation and more than 300 ACSA members attended our contract presentations statewide.

Question: Does ACSA have any materials available to members to assist them with their contracts?

Wamhof: Yes. Last year we developed a Sample Superintendent Contract that we use in working with our members. This sample contract is available on disc, which we distribute during our presentations and upon request.

Question: How can our members take advantage of this service?

Wamhof: Call the ACSA Professional Standards Department at (800) 608-2272.