District and teacher sign ?separation and release? agreement

Members of the Onaway Area Community School Board accepted the resignation of teacher Penny James during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday in the media center.

James, who started the school year as an English instructor in the middle school, had taught in the district since 1993.

?Please accept my resignation from teaching position, effective immediately, following the fulfillment of the obligations of my separation agreement,? stated James in her letter to the board.

According to the terms in the ?separation agreement and release,? James, who was a tenured teacher, will receive the rest of her salary for the 2008-09 school year, ?subject to all retirement, state and federal income tax withholdings,? the four page document states.

It was signed by James October 2, by Onaway Federation of Teachers president Monique Dean October 2 and by school board vice president Sharon Lyon Tuesday night.

The Outlook obtained copies of James? resignation and the ?separation and release? agreement through the submission of a Freedom of Information Act request form. School officials have been advised by the district?s attorney to not make any comments regarding the release of the employee.

As of September 25, James was going to be paid a lump sum of $50,823.33 as final compensation, but that was to be reduced to $37,755, because she received a paycheck during the regular pay cycle since late last month.

The district also is obligated to continue the former employee?s current health, dental, life, optical and disability insurance as set forth in the teacher contract until August 31, 2009.

If James had not resigned, the board could have sought tenure charges, which could have been a lengthy and costly process for the district.

According to Martha Marcero, an attorney representing the school district from the Thrun Law Firm of Lansing, the attorney fees in cases she has worked have ranged from $35,000 to $120,000, for a complicated case in the upper peninsula that required 20-days of hearings.

Even before tenure cases are heard by the tenure commission, an administrative law judge would have issued a preliminary decision. Marcero said there is an 11-month wait to have cases go before the judge. In the meantime, the district would have had to continue paying James.

JAMES WAS charged during the summer with retail fraud from Tom?s Family Market of Onaway.

According to the police report, the storeowner observed her placing an item in a bag. When she was confronted a jar of Jiff peanut butter was found in the bag. James had no explanation for the jar being in the bag, the report states.

The police were conta

cted and a warrant for retail fraud in the third degree was issued. According to police chief James Gibson, it is the second time James has been charged with retail fraud in the community. The other incident happened just prior to Carter?s Food Center closing, but the charges were later dismissed.

The current charge is scheduled for a status conference Tuesday in 89th District Court. If there is no resolution in the case, it is headed to trial, with a jury scheduled for selection November 4.

Following her arrest for retail fraud in August, the superintendent placed her on administrative leave.

James was involved in the establishment of the Veterans? Day event each November at the school, as well as other extra curricular activities. She organized the trip last year to New York City senior class advisor, and for several years wrote the White House to invite the President to the event honoring veterans, and received a ?maybe.? Superintendent Bob Szymoniak said the Veterans? Day ceremony would go on as scheduled, November 11 at 9 a.m.