Tim Rosandick and Luci Asumendi are out as Caldwell’s top school administrators, but both will still collect pay raises in 2015-16.
On top of that, Rosandick and Asumendi are also eligible to collect thousands of dollars in back pay in 2015-16, according to documents obtained by Idaho Education News.
Rosandick had been superintendent in the Caldwell School District since 2012, and Asumendi was the district’s assistant superintendent. Both were ousted Monday night in an abrupt shakeup, even though they remain under contract through June 30, 2016. Curriculum director Jodie Mills was named the district’s interim superintendent.
Under the Idaho public records act, Idaho Education News obtained the original contracts for Rosandick and Asumendi, as well as the contract addenda approved by trustees Monday night. Among the key points:
- Rosandick will receive $137,000 for the 2015-16 contract year that begins July 1, as he works in what the district has described as a consulting role. That’s an increase from his 2014-15 salary of $131,300.
- Asumendi will receive $96,297 for 2015-16, up from $92,234 in 2014-15. The district says Asumendi will work as a consultant in 2015-16.
- In addition, unpaid back pay will further boost their salaries. Asumendi is eligible for an additional 38 ½ days’ pay, totaling $16,851.83. Rosandick will receive an additional 18 days’ pay, representing 15 days’ of back pay and three days that will be added to his work scope for 2015-16. All told, this adds up to an additional $10,584 for Rosandick.
- Board Chairman Charles Stout is assigned to write letters of recommendation for Rosandick and Asumendi. Stout was the lone dissenting vote Monday night, as trustees voted 3-1 to reassign Rosandick and Asumendi.
- Both administrators are free to look for new jobs. Rosandick’s contract specifically states that he can seek new work without jeopardizing his 2015-16 payment from Caldwell.
The 2015-16 pay raises are not new money, said Bill Gigray, the district’s attorney. In both cases, trustees agreed to the raises before they decided to reassign Rosandick and Asumendi. In the addenda, trustees merely agreed to honor their previous commitments on salary, Gigray said Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Mills will work for now under her old contract as curriculum director — an agreement that paid her $92,734 for 2014-15. “There’s been no discussion with her about any long-term situation,” Gigray said.
District officials may soon begin talking with Mills about the length and terms of a new contract, he said. But this week, as all parties agreed on the need for a change in district leadership, trustees agreed on the need to appoint a new superintendent immediately.
The district’s paper trail only underscores the sudden nature of the shakeup.
On June 2, Asumendi signed a contract for 2015-16. Thirteen days later, Asumendi was out as assistant superintendent.
Gigray, the district’s designated spokesman, declined to discuss the timing.
“I’m not the administrators, I’m not the elected officials,” he said. “I can’t really discuss any of that.”
More reading: An anatomy of Monday’s eight-minute Caldwell School Board meeting.
