Clayton County's new superintendent can spend almost half of his 14-month contract not working and still get paid.

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Jessica McGowan/AJC (ENLARGE)

John W. Thompson can spend almost half of his 14-month contract not working and still get paid.

Clayton County schools headlines: • Photos: Timeline of Clayton schools' woes Union members protest Clayton school pick  Retired Marine says he's a contender for Clayton schools chief  Clayton poised to hire retired Marine as superintendent  Clayton schools regain accreditation  Clayton schools to get $25M in federal aid  • AJC editorial: Less hope Read the full report to SACS: • Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Large PDFs) Read SACS' report (PDF) Clayton County news

John W. Thompson's contract grants him the option to spend 107 of his 240 workdays — 45 percent — on vacation, holiday or doing consulting work.

Thompson, who started work Monday, is tasked with meeting the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Sept. 1 deadline to overhaul the district or lose accreditation.

But that deadline is going to be awfully tight given Thompson's contract, said James E. Bostic Jr., a state board of education member appointed by the governor to help Clayton schools.

"When you look at the number of days he has the ability to be off and number of days he has to work, it certainly makes it difficult," Bostic said Tuesday. "I'm really wondering why we are paying this salary for him to be off and earn other income consulting with other school systems."

Clayton is paying Thompson $285,000 a year — or $1,187.50 a day.

Bostic and fellow governor's liaison William "Brad" Bryant have said Thompson is not capable of saving Clayton's accreditation. The president of SACS has said the same thing.

Acting board chairwoman Michelle Strong referred comments Tuesday to Dorsey Hopson, board attorney. Hopson, who served as a go-between for Thompson's lawyer and the school board, declined to comment.

Thompson referred comments to his attorney, Richard Schwartz. Schwartz said Thompson gets 79 paid days off. "Nobody is going to have any trouble figuring out where John Thompson is. These are not unusual perks for an experienced superintendent."

Thompson's contract grants him the perks of all Clayton County administrators: 20 paid days like winter break, 15 holidays and 18 vacation days.

But unlike other Clayton school administrators and past superintendents, Thompson also has 30 additional paid vacation days and two paid days a month to do consulting work outside the district.

That special consulting time does not include the time Thompson can attend educational conferences across the nation. Under the contract, he doesn't have to use vacation time for that.

"I don't see how we're going to get things done with that many vacation days," said Denese Sampson, a Morrow mother with three children in Clayton schools. "He's supposed to be coming to work."

The $285,000 salary is lower than what Thompson requested, Hopson told the board. But when other benefits are added in, the contract is costing the district about $400,000.

Thompson gets $2,000 a month for housing and $28,500 in a tax-sheltered annuity.

On July 1, Thompson will get a raise. He will get the same percentage rate as the highest group of certified school employees. That means if teachers get a 4 percent raise and paraprofessionals get a 6 percent raise, Thompson will get the 6 percent raise.

That's in addition to use of a car and security, if needed.

Dick Greene, a consultant with Clayton's search firm, said Thompson will likely not use all of those days off.

"He will be there to do the job when the job needs to be done," Greene said. "He will not be hithering to do consulting when they need to save accreditation. The availability of days does not mean they will be used."

Thompson will be paid a lump check when he leaves for any unused time, which is another way to bump up his salary, said Sid Chapman, president of Clayton's largest teachers' union.

Chapman said he has been flooded with calls from teachers concerned about Thompson's salary, time off and "unrestricted" powers, which allow him to supersede board policies. The union has requested a meeting with Thompson, but not received a response.

"It seems like a great deal of money and time off, especially since he didn't seem to have a plan," said Chapman, who represents about 2,800 teachers.

Greene said the compensation package goes with the job. It's rare to find candidates with experience in large urban districts and dealing with problems similar to Clayton's, Greene said.

"The problems the district has frightens many candidates away," said Greene, who served as a superintendent for 15 years.

Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, called the number of paid days off "unusually high."

"The salary is higher than many superintendents, but he's got a tough mountain to climb," Garrett said. "The job he has tackled is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs anywhere. Knowing what he's facing, I don't quibble with the salary. I think it's probably worth every dime of it."

Corporations routinely pay high price tags for executives to rescue troubled companies, including lofty stock packages, cars and other options.

"It's not unusual in corporate America, but in academic institutions, it always tends to have a whiff of malfeasance," said Eric Dezenhall, chief executive officer of Dezenhall Resources, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that handles crisis communications for troubled companies.

Thompson will be overseeing a $566 million budget and about 8,000 employees.