The Summit School District Board of Education decided unanimously to table its vote on the addition of an at-will clause to district administrator contracts at its meeting Thursday, May 13.

An at-will employment contract would allow either the district or an administrative employee to terminate the contract at any time without cause or notice. During the public comment portion of the meeting, administrators from schools throughout the district spoke out against the change.

Jeff Chabot, assistant principal at Summit Middle School, read excerpts from a letter administrators wrote to the board on the matter.

“As principals, we stand together in asking how a dramatic shift in contract language surrounding at-will employment can possibly benefit the district, future leadership decisions or our students,” Chabot said. “…As administrators, we understand the high demands of our elevated responsibilities but also recognize the necessity to have a reflective contract that values our roles and reciprocates fair and just practices expected within our schools.”

Board members all agreed that it would be best to take more time to discuss the 2021-22 school year contracts with administrators themselves.

“I want there to be time for our principal team and our administrative team to have the work group that we talked about back in March, and that hasn’t happened,” board member Tracey Carisch said.