Frechette Gets Nearly $300,000 Settlement

will be paid $295,650 to leave his job here.

Under a settlement agreement reached last week with the Board of Education and released today by the board, Frechette will get a one-time payment of  $244,000, and will be paid the remainder of his salary for the school year, an amount totaling $51,484.

The $244,146 includes a lump sum payment of $170,000, along with $46,046 in unused sick time and $28,120 in accrued vacation time according to the . The agreement was released Wednesday by the board's attorney, Christine Chinni. Frechette and school board Chairman Gene Nocera signed the document March 6.

The $51,484 Frechette will receive represents the pay he would have earned for the remainder of this school year. Under the last contract he signed with the board, Frechette was paid $157,480 annually. He will receive a paycheck for 17 more weeks.

Nocera today he said he cannot comment on the agreement as part of its non-disclosure provision. On March 7, Nocera issued a brief statement after the Board's personnel meeting and provided Frechette's resignation letter.

“What we agreed on during negotiations is the Board of Education would make a statement and Michael would make a statement and that’s all,” Nocera said.

Frechette will also continue to get health insurance coverage for himself and his family under the settlement until June 30, 2014, or until he finds a new job.

Under the settlement the board agrees to drop any potential legal claims against Frechette and will continue to indemnify him for any claims brought by anyone else.

The board “releases Dr. Frechette from any and all claims, causes of action, or rights, demands and liabilities whatsoever that the Board has or ever had against Dr. Frechette” and “agrees to hold Dr. Frechette harmless and indemnify him in any action arising out his employment with the Board,” the settlement states.

During Frechette's stewardship the district in recent years has been rocked with controversies. The district and the city has been embroiled in lawsuits since 2010 over employment issues in the central office. More recently, the school system was investigated by state and federal officials for the use of so-called "scream rooms" to discipline some students. And last month a special education teacher at the high school was arrested on allegations she'd had sex over several months with one of her 16-year-old students.

If Frechette is needed in the future by the district to “respond to pending claims and pending litigation,” the agreement states, he will be paid an hourly consulting fee at a per diem rate.

In her letter to the Board of Education March 7, Common Councilwoman Deborah Kleckowski pushed for Frechette's firing because of his ineffective management and poor administrative performance.

That same night, the on the settlement, which declared the superintendent was stepping down on March 9. Chinni and Nocera at the time refused to disclose the financial details of the agreement.