BRIDGEPORT – Already short on funds, the Bridgeport Board of Education will pay its former superintendent $140,384 for the next six months, according to her separation agreement.
In August 2023, Carmela Levy-David, a former Texas administrator, became the fifth superintendent hired by the school board in the last seven years. Promising to optimize district spending, foster student success and listen to the community, Levy-David previously said she planned to lead the state’s largest school district for the next 10 years.
“I’m very passionate about making sure that any school district where I work, I leave it better than I found it. I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon,” the superintendent said at a March meeting.
But after taking a temporary leave of absence last month, Levy-David cut her expected tenure short by more than eight years and signed a separation agreement with the board on Dec. 5.
While neither the agreement obtained by CT Examiner on Friday nor the district have explained her separation, a series of unpopular decisions by Levy-David and her cabinet prompted protests by school community members and calls for the superintendent’s resignation over the last few months.
Like some parents and teachers who opposed new teacher training programs, curriculums and schedule changes implemented during her 16 months on the job, four board members –– Willie Medina, Robert Traber, Joseph Sokolovic and Albert Benejan Grajales –– were critical of Levy-David’s decisions, oftentimes participating in the community protests.
After reviewing the separation agreement in executive session at a Dec. 11 board meeting, members approved her departure from the district in a 6-2 vote.
Sokolovic, one of the two who opposed the motion, told meeting attendees last week that he could not sign off on the costly severance.
“While I do wish the superintendent well and that it’s best that we separate service at this point in time, I do not agree with the package being offered at this time. I would not agree with any package being offered to any employee being severed,” Sokolovic, who has been on the board since 2017 said.
Levy-David, who was earning $250,000 a year, will be paid two installments of $70,192, six vacation days and have continued access to her health insurance benefits through June 30, 2025.
The agreement also states that the board must pay up to $5,000 for the attorney’s fees Levy-David incurred during negotiations.
Although Sokolovic and board member Andre Woodsen –– a vocal supporter of Levy-David –– were unwilling to approve the separation agreement, other boards around the state have seemingly agreed to similar severance packages.
In 2019, Westport Public Schools reportedly paid Superintendent Colleen Palmer a total of $138,648 after she separated from the district that April for medical reasons. Danbury Public Schools also agreed to pay Superintendent Kevin Walston for the remainder of his $259,000 annual contract from January to June earlier this year.
While former Bridgeport Superintendent John Ramos’s contract allowed him to collect a full year’s salary and six years of health insurance benefits upon his 2012 departure, subsequent executives like Michael Testani and Aresta Johnson reportedly quit rather than negotiating their exits with the board. Past reporting makes no mention of severance payments for the two.
The $140,000 separation also coincides with an effort by the district to tackle a $39 million budget deficit.
Due largely to a history of flat funding by the city and the loss of federal pandemic relief funds, the city is unable to both keep up with inflation and afford new staffing and programs created under Levy-David. After the community protested a plan by Levy-David to close six aged schools to save costs, the board decided earlier this year to withdraw $26 million from the district’s $34.4 million savings account to maintain current services.
Shortly after taking over the executive seat, Acting Superintendent Royce Avery told board members that the plan is untenable. The board instead approved cuts to about 45 administrative positions earlier this week, and expects to cut several operational positions, facilities positions and programs in the coming months.
As concerns over the district’s finances and student performance have mounted, Bridgeport Public Schools leaders have been called to attend a January meeting to explain their fiscal plans to State Board of Education members.