Norfolk, Va. (WTKR)- The Norfolk School Board approved a resolution Wednesday night to end the contract of Superintendent Dr. Samuel King early.
King, who had been Superintendent since 2012, will leave the school division on April 30th.
He'll received $246,750 in severance pay.
Thursday morning Dr. King and School Board Chairman Kirk Houston said the decision to end King's contract early was "mutual" but repeatedly refused to offer specifics.
"There’s not one particular item that one can hone in on to say that that particular variable is the indicator," Dr. King stated.
"There’s no one or two things, areas of dissatisfaction," Houston offered.
So far, no interim superintendent has been named.
Click here to read the resolution and term agreement
Norfolk Public Schools released the following statement on his departure:
The School Board and Dr. King agree that it is in the best interests of the school division for Dr. King to shorten the term of his contract, and as of April 30, 2015, end his superintendency of Norfolk Public Schools.
The Board thanks Dr. King for the work he has done since 2012 and wishes him success for the future.
Under Dr. King’s leadership, Norfolk Public Schools have made a number of accomplishments, including:
- Developing of the system’s current five-year strategic plan with the vision of making Norfolk the cornerstone of a proudly diverse community;
- Increasing by 49 percent the number of Advanced Placement exams taken and increasing by 34 percent the number of qualifying exam scores;
- Increasing graduation rates each year;
- Improving achievement in 40 of 45 schools from 2013 to 2014 on one or more high-stakes test areas that determine accreditation, with 18 schools experiencing double-digit increases; and,
- Strengthening alignment and partnership between city government and the public school division, along with jointly forming a public-private partnership to build 4 new schools in addition to the September 2014 opening of Open Campus Norfolk designed to attract back high school dropouts and to get students back on track that were behind on credits.
The Board will soon name an interim superintendent and is committed to employing a new permanent superintendent.
