The Liberty Elementary School District’s governing board directed its superintendent, Dr. Cort Monroe, to return to work last night under a performance improvement plan.
Last month, Liberty Elementary School District placed Monroe on administrative leave during a special meeting.
During that April special meeting, the district held an executive session, and the district decided to place Monroe on leave and “contemplated litigation,” according to the agenda item.
Initially hired in 2023, the district voted 3-2 to amend Monroe’s contract in December, doubling his performance pay potential from 10 to 20% of his base salary.
According to Liberty Elementary School District Board Member Bryan Cirrincione, the plan of improvement was slightly changed after it was proposed by the district’s legal counsel.
Liberty Elementary School District Board Member Kellie Zimmerman alluded to financial concerns with Monroe’s contract.
“There has been a lot of thought about what the right path is for this district, and although I do think that Dr. Monroe has done some things that have hurt the district, considering our current position and essentially our financial position, I am considering this plan to move the district forward,” said Zimmerman.
Monroe’s improvement plan will be delivered to Monroe no later than today.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, crafting a performance improvement plan creates a paper trail for improvement or legal disputes in termination.
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