Former Pike Township superintendent gets $223K severance payout

INDIANAPOLIS — The Metropolitan School District of Pike Township will pay its former superintendent $223,229 in salary and benefits as part of a severance agreement reached last week, WRTV Investigates has learned.

Dr. Flora Reichanadter will receive:

• $206,907 — one year base salary
• $13,526.90 — 17 unused vacation days
• $795.70 — 1 unused personal day
• $2,000 — unused sick leave
• 18 months of medical, dental and vision benefits for Dr. Reichanadter and spouse
  

The school board announced last month it was parting ways with the superintendent, even though her 3-year contract did not expire until June 30, 2024.

The new arrangement contains a confidentiality clause for both Reichanadter and the school board that says they can’t talk about the terms of the agreement, however, Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said the agreement is “absolutely disclosable” under Indiana law.

WRTV Investigates filed a records request and obtained a copy of the severance agreement.

As part of the agreement, Reichanadter agrees to she will never file a lawsuit against MSD Pike Township and will not file a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

Reichanadter and the board also agreed they will not make any “legally impermissible statements” that disparage or demean each other.

Board member Larry Metzler said the agreement was reached with Reichanadter on February 10.

According to the agreement, Reichanadter’s last day of employment with MSD Pike Township was Feb. 10.

The school board announced last month it was replacing Reichanadter following months of criticism over transportation issues and contentious teacher contract negotiations.

WRTV has been unable to reach Reichanadter for comment.

Assistant superintendent of operations Larry Young is serving as the interim superintendent.

Per a 2012 state law passed after WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney exposed a superintendent payout that exceeded $1 million, school districts must now hold a public hearing before they can approve a superintendent’s contract.

The law requires the board to hear public comment on the proposed superintendent’s contract within seven days of signing the contract.

The 2012 law prompted by WRTV’s reporting also requires superintendent contracts to outline the exact fiscal impact to the taxpayers.

As of 2017, it is now illegal for a school superintendent to receive a contract buyout of $250,000 or more, or more than a year’s salary, whichever is the lesser amount.

Sen. Erin Houchin, R-Milltown, drafted Senate Bill 182 after becoming frustrated at buyouts all over the state.

“Our school corporations, when they're really looking for every dollar they have to put into the classroom, it's not fair to taxpayers or teachers or school students to put that extra financial burden on them,” said Houchin in 2017. “And that's why I initially drafted Senate Bill 182. We had seen contract buyouts in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases up to a million dollars where you’re ultimately having to pay one superintendent to leave and then another superintendent to do the job. It was out of that concern that I drafted Senate Bill 182.”

The $250,000 cap on payouts does not include any fringe benefits, such as car and cell phone allowances.

In addition to the $250,000 cap on buyouts, the legislation also limits superintendent contracts to three years for the initial and subsequent contracts can not be more than five years.