Forest City approves superintendent’s payout

BY REBEKAH BROWN

Times-Shamrock Writer

The school board recently approved a nearly $21,000 retirement payout for former superintendent Robert Vadella. The $20,099.60 was for unused sick and vacation days.

The payout, approved Feb. 13, included 16 and a half sick and 40 vacation days, according to business manager Kathleen Seifried. Each sick day was valued at $20 and the price of each vacation day, which was based on Vadella’s $121,088.21 ending salary, was $494.24.

Board President Mary Emmett said the payout was simply a matter of adhering to his contract.

“There wasn’t anything that was out of the ordinary,”  Emmett said, adding thatForestCityis not in the “same category” as other districts where some payouts have been larger than salaries. “I think that we’re cautious about everything these days.”

During Vadella’s tenure, a pre-kindergarten program was created, the Project Lead the Way student engineering program started and the elementary school achieved the academic honor of a Blue Ribbon ranking, according to Emmett.

John J. Kopicki became acting superintendent in July and was officially named to the position in January. His base salary is $105,000, and his contract extends until June 30, 2016.