DeKalb terminates superintendent

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By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The DeKalb County school board voted unanimously today to terminate superintendent Crawford Lewis.

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Superintendent Crawford Lewis announces his retirement today during the DeKalb School Board meeting at the William Bradley Bryant Center of Technology in Decatur Friday, April 16, 2010.

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Superintendent Crawford Lewis announces his retirement today during the DeKalb School Board meeting at the William Bradley Bryant Center of Technology in Decatur Friday, April 16, 2010.

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"We invoked the termination for convenience," board chairman Tom Bowen said. "The board and the superintendent mutually agreed this is what is best for the system to move forward."

Lewis agreed to walk away with four months of severance pay – about $85,000, as outlined in his contract. The agreement allows Lewis, a DeKalb schools employee for 33 years, to retire, Bowen said.

"We mutually agreed to terminate my employment," Lewis said. "I'm thankful to the board to give me this opportunity to live my dream and serve as superintendent for the last five years."

Two weeks ago, the board asked Lewis to come up with a mutual separation agreement, saying he has become a distraction.

Lewis has been on paid leave since Feb. 25 – the same day investigators from the district attorney’s office searched his home and school offices. The searches were part of an investigation in possible wrongdoing involving the district’s multi-million construction program.

That investigation is scheduled to be completed by the end of May, district attorney’s spokesman Orzy Theus said.

In January, the board voted to extend Lewis’ contract until January 2013 and raise his salary from $240,000 to $255,000. As part of those negotiations, the board also capped Lewis’ payout at four months, Bowen said.

This was designed to prevent him from walking away with a hefty payout, similar to the $410,000 his predecessor, Johnny Brown, received in 2004, according to Bowen.

Interim superintendent Ramona Tyson will remain at the helm of the district.