Bellevue Public Schools Superintendent John Deegan abruptly submitted a letter of resignation Thursday and angrily challenged the school board to withhold his severance package, which he calculates at more than $800,000.
“I am going to get paid, whether it's from them or whether I have to go court,” Deegan declared during a rambling, profanity-laced interview. “No staff member should ever have to go to court over what they should be entitled. I am not backing away. No way. What the school board is doing is chicken (expletive deleted).”
Deegan's resignation and challenge to the board follows the board's decision last June to launch an internal investigation into some of Deegan's actions.
The superintendent's resignation letter cited his serious health problems since March 2009 and poor relationships with some school board members as the basis for his decision.
John Hansen, school board president, declined to offer any reaction until the board votes to accept Deegan's resignation. Hansen was out of town Thursday and said he had not seen Deegan's letter.
“Right at this point, it is still kind of a personnel matter, and we as a board need to look at it,” Hansen said.
The letter came just days before a special school board meeting set for Monday. The board is scheduled to vote on whether to place Deegan on administrative leave.
The board hired the Rembolt Ludtke law firm in Lincoln last June to investigate whether Deegan had violated any terms of his multi-year contract.
Hansen said he did not expect the board to accept Deegan's resignation or approve any severance for him Monday because the superintendent's letter arrived at the district after the meeting agenda was finalized.
Several other board members said Thursday night they were instructed not to comment on Deegan's resignation, referring questions to attorney Mark Fahleson with Rembolt Ludtke.
Fahleson said he was hired to probe whether Deegan improperly handled a $250,000 purchase order last summer that went to a friend's Bellevue business for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning work.
Fahleson said he is also investigating how much time Deegan spent serving as both a consultant and executive director of the Military Impacted Schools Association, while on district time.
Additionally, Fahleson is investigating whether Deegan gave pay raises to school administrators exceeding what the school board had authorized.
The attorney said his investigation would continue despite Deegan's resignation letter.
Deegan said he has done nothing improper.
“They are crazy,” he said.
For years, he said, the board encouraged him to fulfill the side duties affiliated with directing the military schools association.
Deegan, 63, has been superintendent for 14 of his 38 years with the district. He was previously a Bellevue principal and administrator.
“I am not certain whether my health condition will permit my continued effective employment as the Superintendent,” Deegan's resignation letter stated. “Moreoever, I have concluded that the continuing conflict with certain board members would limit my future effectiveness in this role should I be able to return to work.
“As importantly, it is diverting our attention from those we are privileged to serve: the parents, children and taxpayers of this school district,” his letter stated.
Deegan has been on medical leave since suffering a heart attack in August. He also missed nearly four months of work after having a stroke in March 2009.
Jeff Rippe, assistant superintendent for curriculum, has been handling Deegan's duties since the heart attack.
Last November, the board awarded Deegan a new, three-year contract through the 2011-12 school year and raised his base salary to $208,845, plus an annuity of $45,000.
The district also has provided Deegan with a vehicle, which may be replaced every two years, and four weeks of annual vacation, which could be banked.
Deegan said he has accumulated more than 300 days in unused vacation.
“I never did take any of my vacation,” Deegan said. “That's one of the reasons I am in the shape I'm in.”
Under the contract, Deegan would be paid twice his annual base salary in severance pay if he voluntarily resigned. He also could cash out any unused vacation time and sick leave.
Fahleson said if the district terminated Deegan for “just cause,” then he would be entitled to no severance.
Fahleson sent Deegan a letter in July asking the superintendent to explain how much he was paid for consulting and directing the Military Impacted Schools Association.
Deegan told The World-Herald he receives $60,000 annually for his work with the Military Impacted Schools Association. The association's members are districts that, like Bellevue, have a large number of students from military families.
Bellevue receives about $450,000 annually from the Department of Defense for serving military children, Deegan said. He said his contract authorized him to do side work besides running Bellevue schools.
His current contract states that Deegan “may undertake consultative work, speaking engagements, writing, lecturing or other duties and obligations associated with the position.”
Deegan said he has served as the nonprofit organization's director from the Bellevue school offices since 1986. He said the organization has paid for his travel expenses and reimbursements and said school board members were well aware of that relationship.
The $250,000 purchase order under investigation was for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning repairs. Deegan approved the purchase order last May.
The assistant superintendent of business questioned whether the expense should have gone through the school board and been placed for competitive bidding, Deegan said.
Deegan said the repair work at Bellevue West High School was a series of projects, which would not make them subject to competitive bidding.
“There was nothing wrong with any of that,” Deegan said. “That's the big criminal act that the school board is talking about.”
As far as setting pay raises for administrators, Deegan said, the board gave him the authority to decide the amounts.
“I was operating within policy,” he said.
For many years, Deegan was popular with the school board. Board members approved many of Deegan's initiatives without much debate and made him one of the state's highest paid superintendents.
The board approved his three-year contract in 2007, with a raise of more than 15 percent, on a 6-0 vote. Last November, when the board approved the current contract, the vote was 5-1.
Hansen, a longtime ally, has become key among those trying to oust him, Deegan said. Hansen declined to comment on Deegan's assertion.
At a board meeting in January, Deegan got into a shouting match with a teacher's husband who asserted that Deegan was put on involuntary leave last year and that the board had tailored a “golden parachute” for him. The man said teachers fear retaliation if they voice job dissatisfaction with the superintendent. Deegan became red-faced during the meeting and called the man a liar.
Bellevue City Councilman David Sanborn said many community members have viewed Deegan as a “dictatorial” manager.
If Deegan walks away with $800,000 in severance, many people will consider Deegan greedy, Sanborn said.
Deegan said he expects the school district to honor his contract.
“I don't think they have any choice but to write me a check,” Deegan said. “I put in the work to get it done. I've given my whole life to the district.”
Contact the writer:
444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com
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