Harries; Mayo.
Talks are underway on a severance deal to have embattled schools Superintendent Garth Harries leave his job, with his predecessor among the names floated as an interim replacement.
The deal is not yet complete, according to numerous people familiar with the discussions. (They didn’t want to be identified because the talks are ongoing.)
Under broad terms of the pending deal, Harries would leave his post sometime this fall, more than a year before the June 30, 2018, expiration of his contract, in return for partial payment of his outstanding salary. Harries earns slightly above $200,000 a year.
Maree Snead, Harries’ lawyer, is conducting the negotiations with Thomas Mooney, an attorney the Board of Education hired to guide its quest to push him out of the job.
A majority of the board has backed the general concept of partial payment, but it’s not unanimous.
Mayor Toni Harp has reportedly met with Reggie Mayo, Harries’ predecessor, to discuss him potentially serving as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement is found.
Neither Harp nor Mayo would discuss the matter when contacted by a reporter.
“The board is still talking about what we’re going to do. We haven’t made any decisions yet,” Harp said Tuesday afternoon.
“There is only one superintendent at this time. As far as I know, Garth’s still here,” remarked Mayo.
Harries would say only: “I’m focused on building on our strong start to make sure we have a good school year that continues our progress.”
The discussions follow similar discussions held over the past month on a severance deal for embattled former Police Chief Dean Esserman, who resigned Sept. 2. The city still has not answered a Freedom of Information request from the Independent for the details of that deal. Esserman has already landed a new job, at Quinnipiac University.
Harries, who’s 44, began working in the New Haven school system in 2009 as assistant superintendent. He was an architect of the city’s school reform drive.
He became superintendent in 2013 upon Mayo’s retirement.
Over the past year, he found himself in the crosshairs of the Board of Education, which went from being fully mayorally appointed to partially elected. Critics on the board accused him of not communicating effectively with them and disagreed with policies such as breaking Hillhouse High School into independent academies and pursuing a partnership with a charter organization on a new school project. They hired attorney Mooney to pursue a possible firing. A group of retired administrators called for his departure. Meanwhile, Harries found himself stymied on what used to be routine matters, such as hiring assistant principals and a youth development coordinator.
He began this school year with a whirlwind of public events touting progress on graduation rates and test scores and highlighting campaigns to tackle challenges like absenteeism. Mayor Harp, who originally was on the fence about Harries’ tenure when she became mayor, emerged as his champion on the Board of Ed, arguing that he was demonstrating clear progress.
Harries’ departure deal, once struck, would still need approval by the Board of Education. Given the fate of other proposals at the Board of Ed this past year, that means it won’t be considered a done deal until the final vote is cast.