Superintendent gets $84,000 for unused time off
By LEE TANT, T&D Staff Writer Tuesday, July 07, 2009Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 Superintendent Melvin Smoak has received more than $84,000 as compensation for vacation and sick days he didn’t use over the past 35 years.
Normally, district employees are paid just $40 a day for unused sick days. But in 2006, the board amended Smoak’s contract to apply his daily pay rate for each day of unused sick leave he accumulated at the end of the contract.
He was given two raises after the amendment was made, which boosted his daily pay rate to $540, according to his contract.
Smoak said he didn’t ask for the payout, but he thinks it’s fair nonetheless. He points out that he would have gotten paid at his daily rate for taking the time off anyway.
“When it was presented to me, I didn’t dwell into each one of the items. ... I was happy with what was there,” Smoak said.
He says he has rarely taken any time off since becoming superintendent in 2000. As a result, Smoak said he’s lost quite a bit of his vacation time.
In all, Smoak said he was paid for 137 sick leave days and 19 vacation days he never used.
“I haven’t had two weeks of vacation since I’ve taken this job,” Smoak said.
Prior to becoming superintendent, Smoak was principal at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and an assistant superintendent in OCSD 5.
Former Board Chairman Dr. Kalu Kalu and former trustee the Rev. E.T. Jones signed off on the amendment which raised Smoak’s reimbursement rate. Neither returned messages asking for comment.
Reached by phone, current board Chairman Julius Page said the change was approved by the entire school board. A statement released by Page last week emphasized the old contract was approved by the Kalu-led board.
In OCSD 5, unused sick days can accumulate from year-to-year. But district employees can only carry over 10 vacation days to the next year. Any unused vacation days beyond that are lost at the end of the year.
OCSD 5’s attorney, Kenneth Childs of Columbia, said such arrangements are common in other districts. State Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster said districts are responsible for crafting their own policies in regard to paying out unused sick and vacation leave.
Smoak said the district may look into revising its policy.
He said he would have been willing to defer the payout if the board asked him to do so.
Smoak noted the amendment was made long before the financial crisis.
Last month, the board accepted Smoak’s resignation from the post-retirement Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program. Trustees then granted Smoak a two-year contract paying him an annual salary of $129,812, the same amount he made last year.
The TERI program allows employees eligible for retirement to begin accumulating their retirement annuity on a deferred basis without ending employment for a period of five years. June 30 marked the end of Smoak’s TERI eligibility.
T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060.
To subscribe to the print edition of The Times and Democrat, click here.
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 14, 2009 7:09 PM:
clarke g wrote on Jul 14, 2009 6:34 PM:
"Superintendent Smoak describes himself as a compassionate educator and a perfectionist who's as hard working as they come".
Perfection yesss! that is the word I was looking for to describe OCD5 under Smoak's "leadership" "
sad wrote on Jul 14, 2009 5:03 PM:
clarke g wrote on Jul 14, 2009 1:51 PM:
He is slick "
64bottle wrote on Jul 14, 2009 1:40 PM:
lilma892003 wrote on Jul 14, 2009 12:59 PM:
owbruin wrote on Jul 14, 2009 11:33 AM:
TAS wrote on Jul 14, 2009 9:43 AM:
SICKOFCRYING wrote on Jul 14, 2009 12:02 AM:
SICKOFCRYING wrote on Jul 13, 2009 11:59 PM:
SICKOFCRYING wrote on Jul 13, 2009 11:57 PM:
clarke g wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:39 PM:
Does this mean Smoak will go away with out the payment? If so then move on case closed. "
Shadow wrote on Jul 13, 2009 3:05 PM:
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 12, 2009 1:44 PM:
scobnurse1 wrote on Jul 12, 2009 12:43 PM:
Reasonable wrote on Jul 12, 2009 10:44 AM:
TAS wrote on Jul 12, 2009 9:42 AM:
bravo14sc wrote on Jul 11, 2009 12:28 PM:
weeks766176 wrote on Jul 11, 2009 11:41 AM:
I think considering his job performance this is insane. Our children are barely scaling through school with any book knowledge. "
sad wrote on Jul 10, 2009 6:22 PM:
DownSouthMom wrote on Jul 10, 2009 4:05 PM:
sad wrote on Jul 10, 2009 3:12 PM:
kchew63 wrote on Jul 10, 2009 2:45 PM:
confusedtoo wrote on Jul 9, 2009 9:32 PM:
sad wrote on Jul 8, 2009 8:14 PM:
sad wrote on Jul 8, 2009 8:09 PM:
got2know wrote on Jul 8, 2009 4:58 PM:
1natchezinfl wrote on Jul 8, 2009 11:14 AM:
rump wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:11 PM:
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:34 PM:
Sometimes people stay on beyond their time. Great work WAS done,that day is over,leave with dignity. Great educators are waiting to do great things, let them. "
ssd wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:26 PM:
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 5:06 PM:
Hard? being pushed up to Principal? oh. Yeah that's hard. "
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:55 PM:
uhaul09 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:48 PM:
home girl wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:46 PM:
sickofcrying wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:43 PM:
home girl wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:34 PM:
Chris' Cloths wrote on Jul 7, 2009 4:07 PM:
orangeburger wrote on Jul 7, 2009 3:05 PM:
bigsistagorgus1 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:52 PM:
bigsistagorgus1 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:51 PM:
cherokee wrote on Jul 7, 2009 1:22 PM:
ssd wrote on Jul 7, 2009 12:55 PM:
Crusader wrote on Jul 7, 2009 12:42 PM:
orangeburger wrote on Jul 7, 2009 12:40 PM:
kchew63 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 11:42 AM:
confisus_sum wrote on Jul 7, 2009 11:35 AM:
treasured_ivy wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:40 AM:
ob96 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:39 AM:
kchew63 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:26 AM:
thaos wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:56 AM:
ANNUAL wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:54 AM:
kchew63 wrote on Jul 7, 2009 8:25 AM:
jdheatmag wrote on Jul 7, 2009 6:57 AM:
fhsmct wrote on Jul 7, 2009 5:49 AM: