Balt. Co. school board to spend almost $250K for Verletta White to be consultant

TOWSON, Md. (WBFF) - Nearly $250,000 of Baltimore County taxpayers’ money is going to pay Verletta White, Baltimore County’s former interim superintendent, to be a consultant for the new superintendent.

Gov. Larry Hogan is blasting the county school board, calling White’s new contract an outrageous display of arrogance and waste.

White will formally move into the role on July 1. Many people found last week’s board vote a surprise, but it was written into White’s interim contract, approved by the board in July 2018.

Baltimore County’s eleven school board members unanimously approved White for the role. Her new contract states she will advise new superintendent Darryl Williams on teacher recruitment and retention. She will make almost $250,000 including $232,709 salary plus stipends: $8,772 for a car, $2,028 for a phone and full benefits.

"She knows the system and she has contact with the system. She also has the experience,” Williams said after the vote.

This year, county schools asked for millions more in funding. Baltimore County also passed an income tax increase to help make up an $81 million dollar budget shortfall.

“It’s a significant amount of dollars and we want to make sure we attract and retain top tier talent. At the same time, we need to be mindful and remember we are public servants and we're not in here to become wealthy off the backs of taxpayers. We are here to serve," said County Executive Johnny Olszewski. He's asked for an audit of county schools and says he'll be pushing the new board and superintendent to conduct.

Looking at White's previous contract from 2018, the terms of White's new deal are largely laid out.

It states if White was not selected as superintendent then "the Interim Superintendent shall be returned to her previous position of Chief Academic Officer, or a similar position in the School System. The Interim Superintendent’s salary and benefits for at least one year thereafter will not be less than the salary and benefits she would have received as Chief Academic Officer for the 2017-2018 school year."

The Baltimore Sun reports White made $208,000 in her last year in that role.

"There was some expectation this would be happening. It's a little larger than her prior salary and so I think the numbers are concerning a little bit. In addition to that it speaks to the need for greater transparency and accountability," Olszewski said.

The night of their vote, board members declined to talk about White's new role.

"We typically make decisions around personnel and it remains confidential until the board votes and approves it. So, it's a typical situation," said board chair Kathleen Causey.

This week, governor Larry Hogan called the move outrageous saying Baltimore County students deserve better.

"I think it's going to be extremely beneficial," said board member Roger Hayden.

Board members have heard the criticism. FOX45 contacted all 11 of them Thursday. Hayden was the only one who agreed to do an interview.

When asked why White is getting paid more than what she made as Chief Academic Office, Hayden said: "She's getting paid what the Chief Academic Officer would be paid today, not what it was paid three years ago."

He says White will be an asset when it comes to the county developing a strategy for retaining teachers, which will save the county money.

"It's an extraordinarily good use of taxpayer money," Hayden said. "Anybody who complains about this just doesn't understand what's going on in education and the challenges we have. I think we sort of fell into the bucket of gold...from the point of having someone as talented as Verletta."

Board chair Kathleen Causey was out of town Thursday. She agreed to answer questions via email.

FOX45 is still waiting for those answers.

Causey said having someone move into a consulting role is not unprecedented. She says in the past the school system had an athletics office employee remain on when a new executive director was named.