Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 21, 2012 FLOW Area Board settles lawsuit with former superintendent by Frank J. McMahon Immediately before the matter was to scheduled to go to trial, the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education and former superintendent Paul Saxton agreed to settle the civil lawsuit Saxton filed. The district and Saxton agreed to settle the lawsuit for $85,000, and Saxton advised that much of that settlement would go towards the legal cost he has incurred to pursue this lawsuit. Saxton sued the board for allegedly misrepresenting in his 2001 contractual agreement that the additional compensation over and above his base salary would be pensionable, and for the payment of the unused sick and vacation days he accrued prior to his 2008 retirement. He sought compensation for over $350,000 in pension money loss projected over his lifetime because he asserted that he was assured by the school board’s attorney at the time of his contract agreement in 2001 that his additional compensation would be pensionable, and the state pension board later determined that it was not. Saxton also claimed the district owed him for 108 unused vacation days and 115 unused sick days accrued over his 11-year employment. He said that, according to a board auditor’s report, pay for the unused days amounted to about $130,000. He also sought a $30,000 consulting fee he was to receive for professional services provided after he retired. The district claimed the $130,000 included “comp” days to which Saxton was not entitled and which were improperly paid to him over the years even though they were not included in Saxton’s contract or memorandums of agreement and, as such, he was not entitled to that amount of money. In addition, the board claimed Saxton never received prior approval from the school board to accrue his sick and vacation days. Saxton maintains that the comp days were “in lieu of” days that were approved by past presidents of the school board for work he performed during holidays when other employees were not at work and that it was standard past practice of the board to grant “in lieu of” days with the approval of the board president. He emphasized that he worked many other hours without compensation that he calculates would have added up to a full year of work days. In its response to the lawsuit, the board asserted that Saxton owed the district $20,000 under the terms of his contract for leaving before his contract expired. However, Saxton advised that he provided notice of his retirement to the board and the district more than a year before his retirement. Frank Ceurvels, the district’s business administrator, advised that, as of Jan. 31, the board has incurred $172,424 in legal fees in relation to this lawsuit, which is over and above the $85,000 settlement and does not include any legal costs incurred since that time. According to Ceurvels, the entire cost of defending the defamation suit filed by Saxton against current School Board President Ira Belsky, which was dismissed last December, was covered by the board’s insurance company. Saxton said he felt bad for all the people he said “were dragged into the lawsuit” through interrogatories or depositions. “I was greatly saddened that one person on that board can continue his personal vendetta and mislead the current board and the community with their perception of my administration and the board of education under which I served,” Saxton said. “The most significant changes in the district’s history with respect to facilities, operations and programs took place during my administration with my former board, staff, and community. It’s a shame Mr. Belsky did not participate in the most significant changes that the district has ever experienced.” Belsky said the board was forced to defend the district because of the dollar amount of Saxton’s claims, but he described the settlement as a mere fraction of the former (continued on page 18) The Indian Hills High School Academic Decathlon Team won the “first overall” award in last month’s Region II Academic Decathlon, a competition that involved 10 other high schools in the Bergen County area. Indian Hills, which hosted this year’s decathlon, also placed first in the Super Quiz, an oral event that highlighted the topic of imperialism. Ramapo High School won third place this year. The United States Academic Decathlon is an annual high school academic competition organized by the nonprofit United States Academic Decathlon Association. The competition consists of seven multiple choice tests, two performance events, and an essay. “We have been preparing all year for the competition studying imperialism,” said Mike Catelli, the coach of the IHHS places first in Academic Decathlon Indian Hills team. “The dedication of the students on the team has been amazing this year. From art fundamentals to music theory they have taught each other an incredible amount of information. It’s amazing to see the students focus and work on subjects with which they typically struggle. Their preparation and personal dedication to the team helped it to succeed.” The Indian Hills students won several awards and medals. At the honors level, Josue San Emeterio, a senior, won the gold medal in physics, the gold medal in economics, and honorable mention in speech. Chloe Margherita, a senior, won honorable mention in music, the gold medal in economics, the silver medal in (continued on page 19)