June 27, 2014 at 4:57 p.m.

Settlement reached in lawsuit between School District of Rhinelander and retiring administrator

Settlement reached in lawsuit between School District of Rhinelander and retiring administrator
Settlement reached in lawsuit between School District of Rhinelander and retiring administrator

By Marcus [email protected]

A settlement has been reached in the compensation dispute between the School District of Rhinelander and Assistant Superintendent Dave Wall, the district has announced.

Wall filed a lawsuit against the district in February arguing that he has not been properly compensated over the last seven years.

Wall, who has served as assistant superintendent since 2007, alleges the school district has failed to abide by the terms of an agreement executed that year which he claims entitled him to annual wage and benefits increases of at least 3.8 percent over the last seven years.

The district has refused to divulge the terms of the settlement and Wall has not responded to several messages seeking his reaction to the resolution of the case.

The Northwoods River News filed an open records request Thursday seeking a copy of the settlement agreement.

Although she won't discuss the terms of the settlement, Superintendent Kelli Jacobi did say the two sides were able to settle the dispute "amicably."

"I'm not allowed to disclose (the terms of the settlement)," she said. "I'm just glad we were able to settle everything amicably because that's the way it needed to happen."

According to the complaint, the school district and its administrative team reached a settlement agreement in November 2007 following negotiations over future wages and benefits. The settlement called for pay increases to be based on a performance model though the total package (wages and benefits) couldn't be any lower than a 3.8 percent bump.

According to Wall's complaint, the terms of the settlement continued in 2008-'09 and 2009-'10 in the form of individual contracts for district administrators. Following that time, Wall alleges that he and the district had negotiations but never officially established a new contract so the prior terms - and the 3.8 percent annual increase - carried over into 2010-'11 and 2011-'12.

In 2012, Wall and the district entered into a new three-year contract running from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015. Though that contract did not stipulate a specific annual pay increase percentage, the complaint alleges that Wall was owed the 3.8 percent hike because the 2007 settlement agreement was still in effect. According to the complaint, other administrator contracts for the same time period included a clause stating that the new contracts would supersede all prior contracts or agreements. Wall's contract did not include this clause, the complaint states.

"Mr. Wall had a contractual right to salary adjustments at a rate of '3.8 percent total package increase' each year beginning with the 2007-'08 school year..." the complaint states.

When applying the 3.8 percent annual increase to Wall's actual compensation since 2007-'08, the additional amount he would have received in wages and benefits in the last seven years is in the range of $100,000. That's an estimate based on Wall's salary figures listed in the complaint. However, the complaint does not indicate how much compensation was received via benefits. Wall's 2013-'14 base salary is $120,242.25, approximately $9,000 more than it was in 2007-'08.

Wall retiring

The district has also announced that Wall will be retiring from his position effective June 30.

It is unclear whether the retirement was part of the settlement. When asked whether Wall's retirement played a role in the settlement, Jacobi responded "everything worked together."

She said the district is already searching for a new administrator.

"We posted the position (Tuesday). The position was changed slightly. It's going to be director of special education and pupil services," Jacobi said.

"It will not include the assistant superintendent piece and it will not include (human resources) duties, at least right away. It will just be dedicated to special ed. and pupil services."

The assistant superintendent position will be dropped while the human resources duties Wall was performing will be handled by Jacobi, at least for the 2014-'15 school year.

Once applications are reviewed, the district will set up interviews.

"I believe the end date is July 11, so it will close then. If we have strong applicants that have already applied by then, we hope to do interviews the middle of July, the following week," Jacobi said. "We hope to have somebody on board in August."

Jacobi said the district is appreciative of Wall's 17 years of service.

"We definitely appreciate all of the hard work that Dave's done for the district," Jacobi said. "We appreciate all his hard work, all the effort he's put forth to provide the best opportunities for the children. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

In a press release announcing his retirement, Wall thanked his fellow district employees and everyone else he's worked with during his time with the district.

"It is with much humility that I want to take this opportunity to thank (those I've) had the honor and pleasure to work with and serve for the past 17 years in the School District of Rhinelander," he wrote. "I sincerely wish only the best for the students, parents and employees of the School District of Rhinelander and the Rhinelander community. A very special thanks to those individuals who have left me with so many wonderful memories."

He could not be reached for further comment.

Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].

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