Trustees to Buy Out Contract of Superintendent

After months of hand wringing, Santa Paula elementary school board members voted quickly Monday to buy out Supt. Dave Philips’ contract, making him the fifth superintendent to leave the district in 12 years.

Trustees gave Philips--who has served the 3,600-student district since 1989--until 6 p.m. Monday to clear out his desk after they decided in closed session earlier in the day to pay him for the remainder of his contract, which expires in June.

“The way it looks, any money he had coming to him in the contract, he will still get,” said the board’s newest trustee, Steven Shuel.

If the board decides to pay Philips’ remaining salary, it will be $52,000; with benefits, the payment would rise to about $67,700. If the 67 vacation days Philips has earned over the years is included, the amount the district may have to fork over totals about $95,000, said Randall Chase, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services.

Philips, who earns about $104,000 annually, has been put on administrative leave, and trustees will soon begin searching for an interim superintendent, Shuel said. One possible matter during a special meeting Wednesday will be to consider having an assistant superintendent fill the role temporarily.

For several months, the question of what to do about the superintendent has provoked rocky relations among board members, as well between them and Philips. The move to buy out his contract comes one week after trustees finally agreed they would not extend his contract beyond June.

Philips, who is still considering the possibility of teaching in the district next fall, said he expected the board’s action and is satisfied with the buyout.

Since the mid-’80s, the post of superintendent has been held by many people. Supt. John De La Rosa, who took the job in 1976, did not have his contract renewed in 1984, and his contract was bought out.

David Grey then served as interim superintendent for a year and was followed by Supt. Jim Turner, whose contract was not renewed when it expired in 1989. Another interim superintendent filled the role before Philips was hired that same year.

“I was the fifth and I’ve been here 7.5 years and I’m proud of my accomplishments and it’s longer than others have lasted,” Philips said.

Though trustees said they were not permitted to disclose the reasoning behind the buyout, earlier this year Philips and the trustees had a stormy episode when the superintendent’s salary came up for review.

Trustees had voted to have an attorney question Philips about how he set his salary to find out if he had been overpaid. After a public hearing, trustees were satisfied that Philips followed the wording of his contract, which allows him some leeway in determining his own salary.

Still, several trustees expressed dissatisfaction with the way the superintendent’s contract is written and said there will likely be discussion about how the new superintendent’s contract is worded.