Rendell Earned a Termination for Cause. Matt Susin Is Giving Him a Sweetheart Deal. (Editorial Analysis)![]()
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Mark Rendell told every district employee in writing on Nov. 5 that he is leaving for Eastern Florida State College. There is nothing left to "mutually agree" to.![]()
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On Oct. 27 this board gave him a 93.96 percent rating and a $10,000 bonus. Five days later Brevard County was under over 20 inches of water, the governor declared a state of emergency, and every school in Brevard was closed while teachers and principals checked on flooded families, many still grieving the child who died at Riviera. Schools reopened Nov. 4. On Nov. 5, Eastern Florida State College announced Rendell was leaving for a vice president job that was never advertised. The deal was done before the water went down.![]()
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His contract requires 90 days' written notice. He has not given it. It also required him to tell the board within three business days of negotiating for another job. He did not. His contract calls that a material breach, and a material breach is cause.![]()
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So why is Matt Susin calling an emergency meeting to hand him things no other employee who quits would ever get?![]()
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A cash payout of 1,094 hours of sick leave, roughly 137 days. District policy says an employee who resigns is not paid for sick leave. Any teacher who quit tomorrow would be told exactly that. Unless Rendell is retiring under the Florida Retirement System, and nobody has said he is, this check is not owed. There are teachers currently working with terminal cancer because they don't have the sick leave and can't afford to quit. Any staff member who quit today would not get paid out on their sick leave, so why is Matt Susin trying to pay their boss who is abandoning the ship something no one else would get? Maybe that leave should be donated to those very teachers. Just a thought.![]()
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A waiver of the 90 days he owes.![]()
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A release from every claim the School Board has against him, "known or unknown," with the Riviera investigation still open. That release does not bind Palm Bay Police, the State Attorney or the Department of Education. It only ties the hands of this board and every board after it.![]()
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A promise the district will never sue him. Ever.![]()
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And if investigators need to ask him what he knew, Matt Susin wants to pay him roughly $147 an hour to come answer questions.![]()
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Not only is the separation agreement illogical, it is sloppy. The agreement in Section 5 cites "Section 4.3" of his contract. His contract has no Section 4.3. This is clearly rushed. Why?![]()
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The only thing on that list he is actually owed is his vacation pay. He gets that without any agreement at all.![]()
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The board does not need to invent anything Tuesday. It needs to enforce the contract he signed. Vote no. Then either terminate him for cause or accept the resignation and pay him what Section 15 says: salary through his last day and nothing else. Keep every claim. Let the investigations finish.![]()
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He walked out on every student in this district in the middle of a disaster. A captain who leaves the ship in the middle of a storm does not get an award and a round of applause. He gets a hearing. Instead, the chairman wants to send him off as a hero with a check and a shield. Who is Matt Susin representing? There are some serious questions that need to be answered as to the motivation to propose such an agreement that clearly doesn't benefit the district, but goes above and beyond to reward Dr. Rendell for quitting to seek his own personal ambitions. There should be an audit of all communications surrounding this entire ordeal.![]()
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And one more thing. Before any vote, Board Attorney Paul Gibbs should be required to state on the record, in plain words, whose interest this agreement serves: the School Board and the students of Brevard County, or Dr. Rendell. He is paid by the district. The district is the one giving up claims, waiving notice, writing the sick leave check and paying the hourly rate. If he cannot say on the record that this document is in the district's best interest, the board has no business signing it. I think most attorney's would agree that it would be legal malpractice to recommend such an agreement under these circumstances.![]()
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Below you can read every word of the agreement being proposed by School Board Chair Matt Susin and our notes highlighting everything Dr. Rendell is NOT entitled to.![]()
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Special meeting, 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, Educational Services Facility, Viera.![]()
Matt Susin contact information: susin.matthew@brevardschools.org![]()
Phone: (321) 607-2525![]()
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#BrevardSchools #SpaceCoastRocket #BrevardCounty
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