By Adam Pagnucco.
On the night that former Superintendent Monifa McKnight left MCPS, I filed a Maryland Public Information Act request seeking details of her post-employment compensation. Minutes ago, MCPS answered my request.
MCPS has released its Separation Agreement and General Release with McKnight. McKnight signed it on February 28 while Board of Education President Karla Silvestre signed it the following day. Those signatures came after McKnight’s departure was announced on February 2. The major provisions of the agreement are:
McKnight was paid $1.3 million. That includes $1,183,250 in wages, $30,000 in attorney fees, $20,225 in deferred compensation, $18,525 for a tax sheltered annual annuity plan and $48,000 for an annual annuity.
MCPS agreed to allow McKnight’s child to attend MCPS schools even if McKnight leaves the county, with MCPS covering tuition fees and McKnight paying non-tuition costs.
McKnight agreed to release MCPS from “any and all claims, actions, causes of action, damages of any kind, demands, debt, defenses, grievances, obligations, contracts, promises, judgments, expenses, costs, attorneys’ fees, compensation and liabilities, known or unknown” on or before the date on which the agreement was signed. This does not apply to any claims arising after the date of signing. McKnight also agreed not to sue MCPS.
The parties agreed to this confidentiality language:
The Parties agree that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the terms of this Agreement (including the value of the Separation Payment) and the negotiations in pursuance thereof are strictly confidential and shall not be disclosed, and have not been disclosed, to any person or entity. Executive [McKnight] may disclose the terms of this Agreement, including without limitation the Separation Payment, only to her spouse or domestic partner, attorneys, accountants and tax advisers who, as agents and representatives of Executive, also must keep the terms of this Agreement strictly confidential. Employer may disclose the terms of this Agreement as necessary to administer the Agreement or as otherwise required by law.
The agreement has a mutual non-disparagement clause which reads in part:
Executive [McKnight] agrees that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, she will not make negative or disparaging statements concerning, or take any action that derogates, Employer or the other Releasees identified in Section 5(a), their services, reputation, officers, staff, financial status or operations or that damages Employer’s or other Releasees’ professional or community relationships. The Employer and the Board members agree that they shall not make, or authorize or encourage any officer, director, or Board member to make, any statement or remark that disparages Executive’s reputation or that otherwise derogates her personal or professional character.
The agreement is binding on successors, such as future school board members, and has a severability provision.
Given the confidentiality language, why did MCPS release this agreement? A 1998 opinion from the Attorney General of Maryland holds that the public information act requires the release of both salaries and non-salary payments such as bonuses or performance awards to the public. Also, a 2004 opinion by the Court of Appeals of Maryland found that employment contracts “and any amendments thereto, side letters or documents reflecting the total compensation and sums of monies paid directly” by a covered entity must be disclosed. MCPS must have determined that these sources of authority and/or others required disclosure of this agreement despite its terms.
The separation agreement, along with McKnight’s employment contract, may be downloaded below.