Gwinnett schools’ buyout of superintendent Wilbanks exceeds $530,000

J. Alvin Wilbanks, superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, listens to public comment during a school board meeting in 2020. The amount of Wilbanks' payout remains unclear days after the school board voted to end his contract nearly a year early. (Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Ben Gray

Credit: Ben Gray

J. Alvin Wilbanks, superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, listens to public comment during a school board meeting in 2020. The amount of Wilbanks' payout remains unclear days after the school board voted to end his contract nearly a year early. (Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Gwinnett County Board of Education will pay outgoing Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks more than $530,000 to buy out his contract a year early.

School district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said Tuesday the payout will be $530,371. It represents 11 months of Wilbanks’ total annual gross salary, not including the annual Teacher Retirement System employee contribution.

The school board voted last week to end Wilbanks’ contract July 31. It had been set to expire June 30, 2022.

The board used a provision of the contract that allows members to unilaterally terminate it “for the board’s convenience” at any time provided the superintendent gets “all of the aggregate salary he would have earned” for the remainder of the contract or a year’s salary, whichever is less.

The current contract sets Wilbanks’ base salary at $380,971.88. In addition, he receives a transportation allowance of $1,500 per month, a retirement supplement of $3,500 per month, a longevity supplement of $6,250 per month, reimbursement for expenses such as conventions and Teachers Retirement System of Georgia contributions at the state-prescribed employee rate.

His total pay last fiscal year exceeded $621,000, the highest amount for a school superintendent in Georgia.