Westwood schools chief sought $1M buyout in retirement flap, board says. Here's the latest

Westwood Regional schools Superintendent Jill Mortimer − who's accused the district of trying to force her out − recently asked for a more than $1 million buyout of her contract, the school board vice president said on Thursday.

The board declined the offer but is still seeking a "reasonable compromise" on Mortimer's future, Andrea Peck said at this week's school board meeting.

The announcement followed an emergency meeting on April 9 at which the board announced that Mortimer intended to stay in her post, despite previously announcing her plan to retire at the end of the school year.

At that meeting, Mortimer's attorney, Armen McOmber, hinted at potential legal action and accused the board of a "campaign of harassment and unlawful discrimination" intended to push out the superintendent.

School board President Jay Garcia, for his part, complained that Mortimer had sat back while the district spent months on a search for a replacement before abruptly announcing she intended to stay.

Mortimer never officially filed a letter of resignation, however. She became superintendent in 2021, signing a five-year contract with the district for a base salary of $242,500 a year. She'd previously served seven years as an assistant superintendent.

Westwood superintendent pleads her case

On Thursday, Peck, who serves as the chairperson of the superintendent search committee, gave an update. She said the board had instructed Mortimer to provide “a clear and concise public statement” of her reasoning by this past Monday.

In the statement, posted on the district’s website, Mortimer said that the past three years of her tenure have featured “significant personnel improvements” in the K-12 school system, including the hiring two education directors, a personnel director, a technology director, a school counseling and wellness official, two principals and “numerous staff members.”

“For these reasons, I have decided to stay on as your proud superintendent of schools,” Mortimer wrote. “Simply put, my work here is not finished. I have served the WWRSD to the best of my ability for almost a decade, and I truly believe that I possess the needed historical knowledge to lead the new hires in their roles and advance the mission of the district.”

Mortimer's alleged buyout offer

Peck thanked Mortimer for issuing the statement, but then said she also wanted to notify parents and taxpayers that the superintendent, through her attorney, had requested a buyout exceeding $1 million “or she would not retire as she previously stated.”

“This board declined to utilize taxpayer dollars in such a fashion,” continued Peck. “We cannot provide any further details regarding that at this time. We will continue to work together with Dr. Mortimer for the district, its students, staff and local community. We remain hopeful we can work to find a reasonable compromise to her request.”

Mortimer did not respond to Peck’s comments during the meeting and went about the rest of the session as normal, answering questions and talking briefly about the district's proposed budget.

Attorney claps back: Numbers are 'inaccurate'

In an interview on Friday, however, her attorney said “the numbers that have been communicated are inaccurate," and he blasted the board for discussing "confidential settlement discussions" publicly.

“We do not negotiate in public,” McOmber said, when reached by telephone. “I thought that my communications that went back and forth with board counsel were confidential and would be handled as such. I guess I was wrong.”

McOmber said the district had made its own offer but that he would not disclose it. It was “outrageous that the settlement communication among lawyers was released to the public,” he said.

More: Westwood High School team competes for national Academic Decathlon title

Notice of possible lawsuit

At the April 9 meeting, McOmber said he had previously served the board with a "litigation hold," a written notice advising that records must be preserved in case of a possible lawsuit. A formal lawsuit has not yet been filed, he said Friday.

At the end of this week's meeting, board member Kristen Pedersen made a motion to “abdicate the district from any financial responsibility that may result from potential litigation that may arise hypothetically from the superintendent rescinding her resignation for the purpose of retirement.”

Pedersen’s statement was not explained further, as the meeting was reaching its time limit. A move to extend the discussion failed in a 6-3 vote. Before voting no, Garcia said the matter warranted discussion but should be done in a private executive session with a lawyer.

Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: noda@northjersey.com

Twitter: @snoda11

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Westwood schools superintendent sought $1M buyout, board says