1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; limiting the amount of 
  1.3             severance pay for school superintendents leaving 
  1.4             employment; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.5             123B.143, subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [TITLE.] 
  1.8      The title of this act shall be the John Haro Golden 
  1.9   Parachute for Superintendents Limitation Act. 
  1.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 123B.143, 
  1.11  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [CONTRACT; DUTIES.] (a) All districts 
  1.13  maintaining a classified secondary school must employ a 
  1.14  superintendent who shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of 
  1.15  the school board.  The authority for selection and employment of 
  1.16  a superintendent must be vested in the board in all cases.  An 
  1.17  individual employed by a board as a superintendent shall have an 
  1.18  initial employment contract for a period of time no longer than 
  1.19  three years from the date of employment.  Any subsequent 
  1.20  employment contract must not exceed a period of three years.  A 
  1.21  board, at its discretion, may or may not renew an employment 
  1.22  contract.  A board must not, by action or inaction, extend the 
  1.23  duration of an existing employment contract.  Beginning 365 days 
  1.24  prior to the expiration date of an existing employment contract, 
  1.25  a board may negotiate and enter into a subsequent employment 
  2.1   contract to take effect upon the expiration of the existing 
  2.2   contract.  A subsequent contract must be contingent upon the 
  2.3   employee completing the terms of an existing contract.  If a 
  2.4   contract between a board and a superintendent is terminated 
  2.5   prior to the date specified in the contract, the board may not 
  2.6   enter into another superintendent contract with that same 
  2.7   individual that has a term that extends beyond the date 
  2.8   specified in the terminated contract.  A board may terminate a 
  2.9   superintendent during the term of an employment contract for any 
  2.10  of the grounds specified in section 122A.40, subdivision 9 or 13.
  2.11  A superintendent shall not rely upon an employment contract with 
  2.12  a board to assert any other continuing contract rights in the 
  2.13  position of superintendent under section 122A.40.  
  2.14  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 122A.40, subdivision 
  2.15  10 or 11, 123A.32, 123A.75, or any other law to the contrary, no 
  2.16  individual shall have a right to employment as a superintendent 
  2.17  based on order of employment in any district.  If two or more 
  2.18  districts enter into an agreement for the purchase or sharing of 
  2.19  the services of a superintendent, the contracting districts have 
  2.20  the absolute right to select one of the individuals employed to 
  2.21  serve as superintendent in one of the contracting districts and 
  2.22  no individual has a right to employment as the superintendent to 
  2.23  provide all or part of the services based on order of employment 
  2.24  in a contracting district. The superintendent of a district 
  2.25  shall perform the following:  
  2.26     (1) visit and supervise the schools in the district, report 
  2.27  and make recommendations about their condition when advisable or 
  2.28  on request by the board; 
  2.29     (2) recommend to the board employment and dismissal of 
  2.30  teachers; 
  2.31     (3) superintend school grading practices and examinations 
  2.32  for promotions; 
  2.33     (4) make reports required by the commissioner; 
  2.34     (5) by January 10, submit an annual report to the 
  2.35  commissioner in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, in 
  2.36  consultation with school districts, identifying the expenditures 
  3.1   that the district requires to ensure an 80 percent student 
  3.2   passage rate on the basic standards test taken in the eighth 
  3.3   grade, identifying the highest student passage rate the district 
  3.4   expects it will be able to attain on the basic standards test by 
  3.5   grade 12, the amount of expenditures that the district requires 
  3.6   to attain the targeted student passage rate, and how much the 
  3.7   district is cross-subsidizing programs with special education, 
  3.8   basic skills, and general education revenue; and 
  3.9      (6) perform other duties prescribed by the board. 
  3.10     (b) Notwithstanding section 465.722, the severance pay 
  3.11  provided for a superintendent leaving employment may not exceed 
  3.12  the equivalent of one month of wages.  Severance pay for a 
  3.13  superintendent includes benefits or compensation with a 
  3.14  quantifiable monetary value that are provided for a 
  3.15  superintendent upon termination of employment and are not part 
  3.16  of the superintendent's annual wages and benefits.  Severance 
  3.17  pay includes payments for accumulated vacation, accumulated sick 
  3.18  leave, and accumulated sick leave liquidated to cover the cost 
  3.19  of group term insurance under section 471.61 to retiring 
  3.20  employees, and payments of periodic contributions by the school 
  3.21  district toward premiums for group insurance policies. 
  3.22     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  3.23  following final enactment and applies to a superintendent's 
  3.24  employment contract entered into or modified after that date.