Syracuse City School District

Second Amendment to Employment Agreement

AGREEMENT, made this 29th day of December, 2015, by and between the Board of
Education of the Syracuse City School District, with Administrative Offices at 725 Harrison
Street, Syracuse, New York 13210 (hereinafter, the Board) and Sharon L. Contreras
(hereinafter, the Superintendent).
WHEREAS, the Board and the Superintendent are parties to an Agreement of terms and
conditions of employment dated March 16th, 2011 as subsequently amended on December 12,
2012 (hereinafter, the Agreement); and
WHEREAS, said Agreement contains provisions for annual salary, benefits and other
terms and conditions of employment for the Superintendent; and
WHEREAS, there is contained at Section 3(b) of the Agreement (Term of Appointment),
a provision allowing for the extension of the Agreement, upon the request of the Superintendent
and upon Board of Education approval, and at Section (c) that any extension of the term of the
Agreement shall be confirmed by an Amendment to the Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Board and Superintendent have conferred and agreed to amend the
Employment Agreement and further, the Board, at its meeting held on December 29, 2015
approved such amendment as noted herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereby amend the Superintendents employment
agreement as follows:
1.

Section 3 Term of Appointment, Subsection (a). The remaining term of

the Agreement shall be modified to extend the expiration of said Agreement for a period of one
year so as to expire on June 30, 2017.

2.

Section 7 Compensation. Replace Subsections (a) and (b) with the

following:
(a)

The Superintendent shall be paid a base salary from July 1, 2015

to June 30, 2016 at the annual rate of Two Hundred Ten Thousand One
Hundred Twenty Dollars ($210,120) in equal installments in accordance
with the rules of the Board and procedures of the District governing
salary payment to other District administrative employees.

(b)

The Superintendent's base salary for the subsequent year of her

employment under this Agreement, starting with July 1, 2016 through

June 30, 2017, shall be at the annual rate of Two Hundred Fourteen
Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Two Dollars ($214,322) in equal
installments in accordance with the rules of the Board and procedures of
the District governing salary payment to other District administrative
employees.
3.

Section 7 Compensation Subsection (d) (formerly Subsection (e))

Contribution to Tax-Sheltered Annuity shall be entitled Retirement Savings and replaced

with the following:
(d)

Retirement Savings. On or about July 1, 2016 , the District shall

make a contribution to a tax-sheltered annuity plan, 403(b), 457(b), 401(a)

plan, another qualified or successor plan, or a combination thereof,
consistent with the respective sections of the Internal Revenue Code
(IRC), in an aggregate amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the
Superintendents annual salary for the 2016-2017 school year equal to
Twenty One Thousand Four Hundred Thirty Two Dollars ($21,432).
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Unless otherwise required by the terms of the applicable plan,

contributions shall be made annually within thirty (30) days of the
beginning of each school year of each year for the term of the Contract, or
any extension thereof.
4.

Section 8 Mutual Referral of Concerns, Subsection (a) Board Referral

of Concerns. Add:
It is the parties expectation that under normal circumstances, reasonable
efforts will be made by a Board member to discreetly communicate and
forward to the Superintendent or the Board of Education respectively any
such communication regarding the District, in person, via telephone or via
email within 48 hours.
5.

Section 9 Performance Evaluation and Performance Award Stipend

(formerly Performance Evaluation). Add:

Section 9 is effective only through the end of the 2015-2016
Superintendents performance evaluation at which time this section is
deleted in its entirety and combined with a revised Section 9 which shall
be entitled Superintendents Performance Evaluation.
6.

Section 9 Superintendents Performance Evaluation (formerly

Performance Evaluation and Performance Award Stipend per the first amendment) shall
be revised as follows:
Effective July 1, 2016 and thereafter, no later than sixty (60) days after the
commencement of each year of the contract or at such other time as may
be mutually agreed upon, the Superintendent and Board shall mutually
identify, five certain specific goals for District-wide improvement
consistent with the goals and strategic initiatives within the Syracuse City
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School District Strategic Plan and/or other District priorities mutually

agreed upon by the Superintendent and Board. The mutually identified
goals shall form the basis of the Superintendents performance evaluation.
The annual evaluation will include, but not be limited to, the goals and
criteria established for the evaluation noted above. In the event that the
parties cannot agree upon the specific goals to be included in the
performance evaluation, the parties shall mutually select an individual to
provide facilitated discussion to assist in achieving mutually established
goals. The evaluation may also include other mutually agreed upon work
related criteria relating to the Superintendents performance of her duties
(as set forth in the contract, the Education Law and as required under the
new statewide APPR regulations), and shall be reduced to writing in a
form mutually agreed upon by the parties. The Superintendent shall be
provided with a copy of the proposed written annual evaluation of her
performance at least ten (10) days prior to the executive session of the
Board scheduled to discuss such evaluation. In the event that there is a
dispute as to whether the Superintendent has achieved each goal, the
parties agree to undergo a facilitated discussion, by a facilitator mutually
chosen by the Board and Superintendent, to help resolve the dispute.
However, the Superintendent agrees that, in each year of this Agreement,
the Board of Education shall have full and exclusive discretion to
determine whether the Superintendent has achieved each goal. Should the
Superintendent meet three of the five goals on the annual performance
evaluation, the performance evaluation shall be deemed satisfactory. The
Superintendent shall have the right to respond in writing to the
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performance evaluation. The annual performance evaluation and any

response to it shall be deemed and remain confidential to the maximum
extent allowed by law.
7.

Section 10 titled, Vacation Leave, Subsection (b) Carry Over and

Relinquishment shall be amended with the following language:

Any days of unused vacation leave earned and carried over under the
terms of this agreement and its amendments may be carried over into
succeeding year(s) of the Agreement, but at no time shall the
Superintendents total unused vacation allotment exceed fifty (50) days.
At the option of the Superintendent, up to fifteen (15) days of unused
vacation may be relinquished each year for reimbursement at the
Superintendents applicable per diem rate of pay, which is 1/240th of her
annual salary. The Superintendent shall advise the Board President or his
or her designee of vacation usage including, whenever possible, the
advance scheduling of the same. Should this Agreement be terminated
prior to its expiration or upon separation from employment, the
Superintendent shall be entitled to payment at her per diem (i.e. 1/240th of
her then current salary) for all accumulated vacation days up to the
maximum accumulation of 50 days.

8.

Section 11 (formerly Section 12) titled Sick Leave and Family Illness Leave

shall be modified as follows: Delete the last sentence in the paragraph and replace with the
following language:
Should this Agreement be terminated prior to its expiration or upon
separation from employment, the Superintendent shall be entitled to
payment at her per diem (i.e. 1/240th of her then current salary) for all
unused sick leave days or converted personal leave days accrued by her
pursuant to this Agreement up to a maximum of $18,200.
9.

Section 13 (formerly Section 14) titled Expense Reimbursement and

Professional Association Membership shall be replaced with the following language:

During the term of this Agreement, the Board of Education agrees to pay
the expenses of the Superintendent to attend appropriate professional and
official meetings at the local, state, and national levels. In addition, the
Board of Education agrees to pay all appropriate and reasonable business
expenses incurred in performing the duties of the Superintendent (e.g.,
business related travel, business meals). The Board agrees to pay the
annual fee for membership for the Superintendent in appropriate
professional organizations, as well. The Superintendent shall be permitted
to utilize a District credit card in accordance with procedures established
by the District. The Superintendent agrees to submit such expenses in a
timely manner.
10.

Section 22 titled: Termination during the term of this Agreement by the

Board, Subsection (a) shall be amended to add the following language:

The placement of any schools under the designation of in receivership, or
the Superintendents actions, compliance or activities related to any school
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under the designation of struggling or persistently struggling and/or in

receivership shall not form the basis of disciplinary charges against the
Superintendent unless such actions, compliance or activities constitute
misconduct. In addition, the Superintendents actions, compliance or
activities related to good faith efforts to execute the agreement titled
Assurance of Discontinuance with the New York State Office of the
Attorney General shall not form the basis of disciplinary charges against
the Superintendent unless such actions, compliance or activities constitute
misconduct.
11.

The foregoing Amendment shall become effective immediately and continue in

effect thereafter through the remaining term of the Agreement, unless subsequently modified by
the parties in writing.
12.

All other provisions of the Agreement not specifically addressed herein shall

remain in full force and effect.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands and seals the day and
year first above set forth.
Agreed to this 29th day of December, 2015.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

______________________________________
Michelle Mignano
President, Board of Education

______________________________________
Sharon L. Contreras
Superintendent of Schools