By Adam Pagnucco.
MCPS has released the employment contract of its new Superintendent, Dr. Thomas Taylor. Liliana Lopez, MCPS’s public information officer, sent it to me within 13 minutes of my request. (I could get used to such lightning fast response times!)
The entire contract is available for download at the end of this post. Here are its major provisions.
The term of the contract is from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2028. This conforms to state law, which requires superintendent terms of 4 years.
Taylor’s salary is $360,000. It cannot be decreased during the contract term in accordance with state law. It shall be increased by the same amount received by the administrators’ union or by additional amounts determined by the school board.
Taylor may obtain outside work and honoraria. The contract states:
The Superintendent may engage in other employment or professional activities for compensation during the term of this Contract, so long as said activities do not interfere with his official duties and only after prior written approval of the Board, with such approval not to be unreasonably withheld. The Superintendent may accept and/or earn honoraria or compensation for such outside activities. However, the Superintendent shall perform these activities on release time as permitted by the Board.
Should the Superintendent author and/or publish for any compensation, profit or royalty, research or scholarly work using any data or referencing the activities of Montgomery County Public Schools during his tenure as Superintendent, the compensation received for said work becomes the sole property of the Board to disburse as appropriate.
Taylor gets 30 days of annual leave and 15 days of sick leave per year. He participates in MCPS’s retirement and health benefit plans and gets 13% of his annual salary in deferred compensation, which would work out to $46,800 at his starting salary. He will receive a vehicle approved by the board.
MCPS indemnifies Taylor with legal counsel “so long as his conduct was within the performance of his duties, within the scope of his employment, without malice, and where the Board determines he was acting within his authorized official capacity.” Again, this is provided by state law.
Taylor is required to obtain and maintain residency in the county by August 1, 2024. (Realtors, you don’t have long to contact him!) MCPS will pay moving expenses of up to $25,000 and temporary housing reimbursements of up to $4,000 per month for six months.
Much of the language in Taylor’s contract is similar or identical to the language in former Superintendent Monifa McKnight’s contract. Here are a few differences:
McKnight received a $320,000 salary in her first year whereas Taylor is getting $360,000. McKnight’s contract does not state how much she was receiving at the time of her departure.
Taylor gets 13% of his annual salary in deferred compensation, which would now be $46,800 but would increase over time. McKnight’s contract specified a flat amount of $48,000.
MCPS pays for Taylor’s employee premiums for health insurance for both himself and his dependents. McKnight’s contract did not include that language. This effectively widens the salary gap between Taylor and McKnight.
This language appears in McKnight’s contract but not Taylor’s.
Subject to the Board’s oversight, the Superintendent shall be responsible for the following: (i) overall administration of the schools, the day-to-day management and oversight of the fiscal affairs of MCPS, including the management of activities; (ii) the hiring and establishing of the salaries, and the organization and reorganization of executive staff; (iii) oversight of the selection and assignment of teachers and other employees of the school system; and (iv) the organization and reorganization of administrative departments of MCPS consistent with serving the best interest of MCPS and in accordance with Maryland law.
I’m not sure if that’s a significant omission as state law lays out the respective powers of the superintendent and the school board.
McKnight had a provision in her contract providing that MCPS would pay the costs of her security “in the event of a credible and verifiable threat to the life or safety of the Superintendent and/or her family.” This language does not appear in Taylor’s contract.
Taylor’s contract has a provision recognizing that the tax consequences associated with any payments to him are his responsibility. McKnight’s contract did not have this language.
This language appears in Taylor’s contract but not McKnight’s.
On or about the time of the Board’s annual evaluation of the Superintendent during the last year of the term of this contract, and no later than December 1 of such year, the Board will meet with the Superintendent to informally advise the Superintendent of its intent to reappoint the Superintendent for another term. Thereafter, in accordance with Section 4-201 of the Education Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, no later than February 1 of the year in which this contract ends, the Superintendent will notify the Board whether he is a candidate for reappointment. The Board shall take final action on the reappointment of the Superintendent no later than March 1 of the last year of this contract.
This was a smart move by Taylor considering the mid-contract removal of McKnight and the 2015 board decision not to rehire Superintendent Josh Starr, which played out in messy fashion in the press.
Taylor has five weeks to establish residency in the county. McKnight was given more than a year. Taylor’s moving expenses are permitted to reach $25,000; McKnight was given up to $15,000.
If readers find other differences, let me know!
There will be discussion of Taylor’s $360,000 salary for sure. It’s 12.5% higher than the salary given to McKnight two years ago and that’s before MCPS’s payment of Taylor’s employee health premiums. The public will also no doubt pay attention to any outside work or honorariums as this has been an issue in MCPS before. (This post on former Interim Superintendent Monique Felder’s honorariums was a major story last winter.)
But let’s recall MCPS’s mammoth size. The system has more than 200 schools, almost 25,000 employees and a $3+ billion operating budget. A private sector CEO running an employer of that size would make far more than Taylor’s salary. And while I have not always been enthralled by MCPS’s senior executive salaries, there is no question that the superintendent of schools is a critical position for the success of the county. It’s worth paying the right person enough money to attract them – provided of course that they do a good job.
Is Taylor worth the money? We will find out in the years to come.
Taylor’s employment contract is available for download below.
Superintendent Employment Contract 2024-2028 – Thomas Taylor (Signed 6-25-24)