Former Rochester City School District Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small is receiving $361,250 in an agreement with the district.
The resignation agreement between Myers-Small and the district’s Board of Education, signed on Sept. 1, shows the timeline for the payments.
Some of the funds account for retirement plan contributions, a month of unused vacation days and offsetting future Medicare costs. She will also continue to receive medical and dental insurance coverage through the district for one year from her resignation date of Sept. 1.
The district released the document to WXXI News on Monday after a Freedom of Information Law request.
Myers-Small's contract was cut short by two years when school board members pushed her out this summer.
That came on the heels of a budget process plagued with criticism. State Monitor Shelley Jallow called some elements of Myers-Small's administration’s presented budget “completely irresponsible” and “alarming.”
In a letter shared on social media, Myers-Small said serving as superintendent “has been the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“Rochester will always be close to my heart and I will continue to support in my capacity as a community member,” she wrote.
In the legal agreement, Myers-Small and school board members agreed to not make any disparaging remarks about the other -- at least within the next year. Otherwise, the offending party could end up paying out $25,000.
Myers-Small had served as superintendent since May 2020, after the former superintendent, Terry Dade, left for a position in downstate New York. Dade had been superintendent for just under a year.
Carmine Peluso is serving as interim superintendent as the district conducts a search for a permanent leader.
