District 301 superintendent resignation terms revealed
Central Unit District 301 Superintendent Esther Mongan will receive her regular salary and benefits while on leave pending her resignation.
The terms are part of a separation agreement she and the school board agreed to on Feb. 3. The Daily Herald obtained the document through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Her employment contract with the Burlington-based school district ran through June 30, 2026. However, Mongan has agreed to leave on June 30.
The agreement states that Mongan resigned “after careful consideration and of her own volition” and that she and the board “mutually agreed to a leadership transition.”
Mongan was being paid $250,695 a year, according to the agreement.
She will also get paid for 24 unused vacation days.
Mongan became superintendent in July 2023. People had called for her to be fired in a change.org petition signed by more than 650 people. The petition cited “a culture of retaliation and fear,” as well as criticism of student performance, teacher retention, transparency and more.
Mongan and the district were involved in a civil rights issue in fall 2024 when the district refused to let a Central High School student use his state-issued accessible parking placard to park in reserved spaces at the school because he did not have a school-issued parking pass.
Meanwhile, school board President Eric Nolan resigned from the board on Feb. 11. Applications for a replacement are due at 4 p.m. Tuesday and should be submitted to new board President Dornetria Hemphill at dornetria.hemphill@central301.net.