Pickerington Schools superintendent to retire after two recent pay, benefits hikes

When the superintendent of the Pickerington Local School District announced a week ago that he was leaving his post early, just weeks after the school board awarded him pay and benefits increases, most everyone was surprised.

And the two of five school board members who voted against the increases for Chris Briggs opposed them but for different reasons.

"Yes, I was not aware that it was coming," said Cathy Olshefski, of the resignation announced July 5. "We've been told that it's been hard to fill superintendent positions."

Olshefksi and Mark Hensen cast the only no votes. Olshefski called the June 22 board-approved increase "simply too rich."

In a post on Olshefski's Facebook page, she said: "The Board of Education is responsible for stewarding public monies and overseeing the district’s operating budget. This severance package was outside the range I could support given the financial limitations of a public entity."

According to the June 22 addendum the board approved, Briggs would receive a 4% increase, bringing his salary to $205,400 and an option for "severance equal to his accrued and unused sick leave days at his daily rate of pay effective at the time of separation."

The increase comes after a similar change to his contact in September, which gave him a more than 8% salary increase.

That means that Briggs' severance will be roughly $425,000 instead of $150,000, beginning Aug. 1, which Olshefski said she's calculated. Reducing the effective days worked per year from 260 to 220, also approved in the board's addendum, raises his daily pay from about $760 to $1,230, a 62% increase, Olshefski said.

The fact that board members had to calculate these figures themselves is part of their concern.

Hensen said that he wasn't clear about details of the contract change and didn't think Briggs deserved to be rewarded to begin with.

"I'm concerned about that we voted on something without knowing what the financial implications were," he told The Dispatch. "I don't know right now."

"I still do not know exactly how much that package is worth. As board member, I have not been given the actual, no-kidding figures.

"One way or another, I am going to confront this issue to understand at a minimum why we didn't know the specifics at the time of the vote," Hensen said, vowing to contact the board's attorneys.

Hensen would have voted against a salary and benefits hike for Briggs regardless, he said.

"As a board member, I already had a reason to vote against it because I didn't think his performance warranted it.

"I had a problem with his communication, listening and engaging with folks. That's a big part of any CEO's primary responsibilities. You should be visible, engaged, out and about and communicating with school staff, parents and community members."

Olshefski declined to comment on Briggs' performance. "I'm not against a severance. But when I started to think about this and (ran) the numbers, that's why I voted no."

Board members J.D. Postage, Vanessa Niekamp and Clay Lopez voted to approve the addendum for Briggs, who has been superintendent since 2017.

In his July 5 email to Pickerington schools staff, Briggs explained his exit, effective Jan. 31, as "not an easy decision, but I am fortunate to be taking advantage of the recently adjusted retirement eligibility criteria outlined by STRS (State Teachers Retirement System)."

Briggs current contract would have ended July 31, 2026.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pickerington Schools superintendent to retire after pay, benefits hike