Outlines school boards' responsibility to follow due process procedures in dismissals of school employees who are not teachers. Refers to a recent Supreme Court decision on two court cases. (MD)

Boards can soften the termination blow by assuring employees that layoffs are not personal and offering to write letters of recommendation. School systems should also give early notices and reasonable explanations, eliminate positions through attrition and early retirement, and place certified administrators in lesser administrative or teaching…

The naivete this superintendent displayed was in not asking his school board to put its directives in writing. (IRT)

Major causes of "sudden-death syndrome" for superintendents include mismatched priorities, unseen problems, interference from special-interest groups, and misdirected disagreements. Beleaguered superintendents should be positive and proactive, act and speak as one person, understand agreements, seek help, listen, rewrite personnel…

Describes how the win-at-all-cost ethic is changing high school coaching, resulting in increased pressure on coaches and the exploitation of athletes. Coaches must find a balance between competition and character building. (LMI)

A board member describes the aftermath of a Connecticut district's decision to dismiss a superintendent hired speedily during the previous summer. The board hired a newly retired interim superintendent, formed a search committee, found an excellent taker who lasted seven years, then began the process all over again. Superintendent turnover is a…

The employment contract is the key item in superintendent firing, and thus, it should include provisions for termination. Terminations can misfire if the board does not carry out contractual obligations. Eight points of advice are included for boards that are contemplating firing a superintendent. (MD)

To show a side of the superintendency that school boards seldom see and to give board members a sense of what it's like to be fired from a top school post, the author presents the stories of six superintendents who were fired. (Author/JM)

A search of published cases concerning the dismissal of superintendents revealed 22 court decisions for the period 1983-89. Offers advice to board members compiled from the reported cases. (MLF)

A Colorado superintendent allowed to resign for personal reasons later sued the district, claiming confidentiality provisions had been breached. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed lower court rulings favoring the district. The settlement agreement does not violate the First Amendment, but merely applies state law requiring people to keep their…

Special attention should be given to performance evaluation, contract renewal, and termination in the language of employment contracts for superintendents. (MD)

The school board's decision not to renew the contract of Norward Roussell, Selma, Alabama's first Black superintendent, prompted protests followed by a week-long closure of the schools. Summarizes the events and Roussell's analysis of the problems. (MLF)

Reviews the Supreme Court student search policy in relation to a recent decision concerning a Pima County, Arizona, high school student search that revealed cocaine but was found to be an illegal search. Also reviews the lower court decision in "Loudermill v. Cleveland Board of Education," which found that the school had provided its…

Provides five guidelines to follow in developing alternative policy for accommodating employees' religious practices. Discusses two court cases where school systems lost to teachers because the schools did not make good-faith attempts to accommodate the teachers' religious needs. Includes outline of a board's comprehensive policy for religious…

A number of school boards have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy out their superintendents' contracts. Offers advice from school board members, superintendents, search consultants, and school attorneys on the issues of contract buyouts. Calculates the cost of contract buyouts in four large school systems. (MLF)