As superintendent exited, Millcreek schools paid $250,000 settlement to ex-personnel chief

On May 12, when Ian Roberts announced his resignation as superintendent of the Millcreek Township School District, the comments were glowing.

Roberts expounded on how much he had enjoyed his nearly three years leading the second-largest public school district in Erie County.

The decision to leave Millcreek is "without a doubt one of the most difficult professional and personal decisions that I have ever made," he said.

The president of the Millcreek School Board, Gary Winschel, said the 6,400-student district would miss Roberts, who took a job as superintendent of schools for the 31,000-student school district in Des Moines, Iowa, starting on July 1.

"He has a good opportunity, and while it will be bittersweet to see him leave, he will be going to a much larger school district," Winschel said.

What no one mentioned to the public in May was that, at the time of Roberts' resignation, the Millcreek School District was in the final stages of negotiations that ended with the district paying a confidential $250,000 settlement to a woman who had been one of Roberts' top administrators.

On June 26, four days before Roberts' final day at the district, the Millcreek School Board unanimously approved the $250,000 deal with the woman, Melody Ellington, who had worked as the district's director of human resources from July 1, 2021, until she resigned effective Sept. 30, 2022.

The School Board voted on the deal at its public meeting June 26. The agenda item stated only that the vote was on a "settlement agreement," though the school district's solicitor, Tim Sennett, said at the meeting that the agenda item "was seeking approval of the settlement agreement in regard to the claim of Melody Ellington."

The board members made no comments on the settlement at the meeting, and they did not attach a copy of the agreement to the agenda.

The Erie Times-News obtained a copy of the agreement from the school district through a request under the state's Right-to-Know Law.

The document shows that the school district reached the settlement agreement with Ellington though she never sued the district in court. The agreement contains no information on the specific nature of her claims. Other than Ellington, Roberts is the only school district official identified by name in the agreement, but unclear is whether his name appears because he was the subject of the claims or because he was in charge of the school district when Ellington made the claims.

The parties involved in the deal declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement that is included in the settlement document.

Ellington claimed resignation amounted to 'constructive discharge'

The agreement states that Ellington raised concerns with the district around the time she resigned, and that she claimed her resignation amounted to a "constructive discharge." According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the term applies "when a worker's resignation or retirement may be found not to be voluntary because the employer has created a hostile or intolerable work environment or has applied other forms of pressure or coercion which forced the employee to quit or resign."

The settlement agreement states: "Contemporaneous with her resignation, Ellington alleged unlawful treatment and constructive discharge and threatened litigation under state and federal law. The District, inclusive of its administrators, directors and all related parties, denies any wrongdoing toward Ellington. The parties desire to settle amicably all disputes and disagreements between them without any admission of fault."

In exchange for receiving the $250,000, according to the settlement agreement, Ellington agreed to "release and forever discharge Dr. Ian Roberts and Millcreek Township School District" of all claims. The release also applies to all entities and personnel connected to the school district, including all of "the District's and Dr. Ian Roberts' administrators," according to the agreement.

The agreement contains a number of clauses designed to make the deal confidential. According to the agreement, "Ellington and her counsel agree to keep the existence of this Agreement, as well as its terms, strictly confidential." It states that "The District, inclusive of Dr. Roberts and all other Releasees (those released from liability under the deal), likewise agrees to maintain confidentiality to the extent permitted by law."

The agreement prohibits Ellington from disclosing "any information about this agreement to any past, present or prospective employees or applicants for employment with the District." Also prohibited under the agreement are any remarks by Ellington that are "critical or disparaging" of the school district or its officials or employees. With regard to the Millcreek School District, it states that the School Board and district employees and "Superintendent, Dr. Ian Roberts, will not make any comments or remarks which are disparaging of Ellington with respect to the subject(s) of this litigation."

Despite the confidentiality provisions, the settlement agreement is considered a public record under the Right-to-Know Law.

Agreement requires public comments on deal to be few

Ellington could not be reached for comment for this article. Her lawyer, Richard Ruth, of Erie, declined to comment other than to read from the section of the settlement agreement that states how the parties are to respond to requests for public comment on the deal.

The section states the parties are to respond by saying: "The parties are pleased to have resolved this matter amicably, without the distraction or costs associated with protracted litigation. The parties agree that their public comment will reflect this view. The parties expressly agree to refrain from comment on the underlying claims associated with this matter or the merits thereof."

Roberts did not respond to multiple emails and phone messages seeking comment. Winschel declined to comment beyond what the settlement agreement says would be the public remarks. Winschel and Ellington signed the agreement June 23, three days before the School Board approved it and made it official.

The Millcreek School Board members who voted to approve the agreement were Winschel; his wife, Shirley Winschel; board Vice President Michael Lindner; and School Directors Janis Filbeck, Michael Kobylka and Sallie Newsham. Not in attendance were School Directors Jason Dean, Janine McClintic and Kim Lupichuck.

Ellington's resignation notice offers no indication why she left the Millcreek School District, where she was scheduled to make $117,300 in the 2022-23 school year, according to district records. The Erie Times-News obtained Ellington's resignation email from the Millcreek School District through another Right-to-Know-Law request. It is dated Sept. 16, 2022, and is addressed to Roberts.

The email states: "I am resigning from my position as Director of Personnel for the Millcreek Township School District. My last day of employment will be Friday, September 30, 2022."

District says it used insurance, operating funds on settlement

The Millcreek School District is paying for the $250,000 using a combination of insurance and funds from the district's operating budget, said Aaron O'Toole, the district's chief financial officer. A more detailed breakdown was not immediately available.

Roberts was making $187,272 when he left the Millcreek School District, according to district records. He was sworn in as superintendent on Aug. 12, 2020. He succeeded William Hall, who retired as superintendent in January 2020 after having led the district since June 2013.

The School Board hired Roberts after a national search. His contract with the Millcreek School District was for five years, to run through Aug. 12, 2025, unless ended sooner. Roberts' starting salary under the contract was $180,000. His pay grew due to annual increases of 2%, according the contract.

Roberts was also eligible for discretionary performance bonuses of up to $15,000 a year under the contract. The Millcreek School Board awarded Roberts — who led the school district during the pandemic — a $12,500 bonus on Aug. 23, 2021, and a $10,000 bonus on Aug. 22, 2022, according to district records.

The Millcreek School Board hired a successor for Roberts July 17. The new superintendent is John Cavanagh, previously the district's director of K-12 education. He has worked in the district since 1999, when he was hired as a ninth-grade social studies teacher.

Cavanagh's starting salary is $170,000 a year, according to his three-year contract, which runs through July 17, 2026. The contract includes annual 2% increases. It has no language about performance bonuses.

Before arriving in Millcreek, Roberts, 52, was chief schools officer of Aspire Public Schools, a California charter schools system. He also was an administrator with the Saint Louis Public Schools in Missouri and with schools in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the South Bronx in New York.

A native of Guyana, Roberts also was a world-class athlete. He competed as a middle-distance runner in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and world championships in Japan and Spain.

Ellington arrived at the Millcreek School District a year after Roberts started as superintendent.

Roberts and Ellington worked together at the Saint Louis Public Schools. That district's budget manual for 2017-18 listed Ellington as the budget director and Roberts as a network superintendent for schools in what is known as the Saint Louis district's Network 5.

Ian Roberts goes from Millcreek to Des Moines

Roberts' base salary is $270,000 a year at Des Moines Public Schools. The Des Moines School Board hired him under a two-year contract.

Roberts had the qualities that the Des Moines Public Schools looked for in a new superintendent, Des Moines Public Schools Board Chairwoman Teree Caldwell-Johnson said in a statement announcing the hiring of Roberts on May 16.

"When considering candidates, the Board was looking for educational experience, academic excellence and a passion for innovation and inspiration, and we found those qualities and more in Dr. Roberts," Caldwell-Johnson said.

Roberts said he was excited about his new job.

"Leadership is about meeting people where they are and helping them to become even better, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead a strong organization like Des Moines Public Schools, using the board's goals and guardrails to achieve educational and operational excellence," Roberts said in a statement when he was hired.

Roberts said he has good memories of the Millcreek School District.

"I will miss my interaction with parents here and the unbelievable commitment I see in teachers, staff and school leaders," he said in an interview in the Erie Times-News on May 19, a week after he announced his resignation.

Will Roberts get a bonus for work in Millcreek in 2022-23?

Though Roberts was making $187,272 a year when he left the Millcreek School District, he could end up earning more for his work in the 2022-23 school year. Under his contract, Roberts could receive a discretionary bonus up to $15,000 for 2022-23, but O'Toole, the district's CFO, said he was not certain whether the bonus would be earned.

On June 26, at the same meeting at which the Millcreek School Board approved the $250,000 settlement with Ellington, the board was scheduled to meet in executive session to go over Roberts' evaluation for 2022-23. The board at the meeting was then to vote in public on whether Roberts should receive a bonus, according to the meeting agenda.

Roberts did not attend the June 26 meeting because he was sick, said Gary Winschel, the board president. The School Board tabled Roberts' evaluation.

Winschel said the evaluation and bonus determination would be on the agenda for the School Board's committee-of-the-whole meeting Aug. 14.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the committee-of-the-whole meeting is on Aug. 14, not Aug. 10, as initially reported. The reporting of the Aug. 10 date was based on information from the School Board president.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek School District paid $250,000 settlement amid Roberts' exit