DELMAR — Bethlehem Central School District Superintendent Jody Monroe cited Scott Landry’s ability to establish “positive relationships” in a letter of reference letter included with the written agreement detailing the popular high school principal’s divorce from the district.
“Mr. Landry has positive relationships with students and seeks ways to provide new opportunities for them,” she wrote, recalling his work with students on the Sydney Cycling Sauces and leadership programs coordinated with the local YMCA. “Mr. Landry also believes in a team approach with his administrators. … They established a close working relationship and each of them took on differing responsibilities.”
The statement marks the first time Monroe has communicated about the principal since he was placed on administrative leave May 9. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, one week to the day after closing out a disciplinary hearing, the BCSD school board voted in agreement to accept Landry’s resignation effective at the end of this school year.
But, as of now, Landry is no longer the high school principal, and will not return to the building this year. He made his resignation official in a terse, one-sentence letter addressed to Monroe.
“I herewith submit my resignation from the position of High School Principal of the Bethlehem Central School District, effective June 30, 2017,” he stated.
Landry has been on leave since the school district allegedly reacted to a series of emails exchanged between the administrator and potential clients for his private consulting business in late April.
Landry had attended a Capital District-wide job fair as a representative of BCSD prior to being placed on leave. He reportedly obtained a mailing list of people looking for jobs. Soon afterwards, he had sent emails out to those people, offering his insight and coaching advice for a fee to help clients land prospective jobs in education. Immediately afterwards, Bethlehem Central received complaints about the emails.
Landry has maintained his innocence, claiming that he had done nothing wrong by sending solicitations for his consulting services.
An agreement and mutual release document SpotlightNews obtained through Freedom of Information Law stated “certain irreconcilable differences have arisen” between both Landry and the district. Exactly what charges the former principal faced at the start of the disciplinary hearing have not been disclosed.
A FOIL request to obtain documents related to the district’s charges was denied. As charges were not formally presented at the Sept. 28 disciplinary hearing, the district cited case-law exempting those details from disclosure.
However, based on the details within the agreement, the district will continue to pay Landry’s $131,514 salary until June 30, 2017 — more than a year since he was placed on leave. The seven-paged document details additional compensation Landry is to receive.
- 20 days of vacation leave at his daily rate; a perspective total of $10,959.50. (Landry’s daily rate is defined in another section of the agreement as 1/240th of his annual 2016-17 salary.)
- 189 days of sick leave at $125 a day; calculated at $23,625.
- And, a $3,000 health insurance family buyout.
Over time, the district is obligated to pay a calculated total of $169,098 to its former principal, unless he obtains employment elsewhere. In which case, he is to submit proof of when and how much he is to make at the new job. The district would then pay him the difference.
Come June 30, 2017, BCSD and Landry sever ties with one another. However, should Landry be called upon by the district to appear in future litigation cases, involving his time as an administrator with the school, he would receive his daily rate (based on his 2016-17 annual salary) as additional compensation.
The district has declined comment due to this being a personnel matter. Landry has also declined to comment on the agreement and the circumstances surrounding when he was contacted by SpotlightNews. Both have been specified not to make derogatory comments about the other. In turn, Landry’s now-former employer is tasked with aiding him with finding employment, and providing prospective hirers with Monroe’s letter of reference.
