IDEA Public Schools co-founder Tom Torkelson will receive $900,000 as part of a separation agreement reached last month, when he resigned as CEO after a two-decade run with the state’s largest charter school operator.
The amount far exceeds the annual salary of Texas’ highest-paid school leaders, who typically earned $300,000 to $450,000. Torkelson’s base salary on his four-year contract, which had two-plus years left on it, called for an annual salary of $275,000 and performance bonuses of up to $200,000.
If a Texas public school district pays out more than a years’ worth of a superintendent’s salary and benefits, state law mandates that the Texas education commissioner reduce the district’s funding by an amount equal to the difference. Most recently, the Texas Education Agency docked Katy ISD by $513,754 after reaching a settlement agreement totaling $955,795 with former superintendent Lance Hindt.
However, it was not immediately clear Friday whether that law applies to Torkelson’s agreement because he served as CEO. Torkelson’s replacement, JoAnn Gama, served as IDEA’s superintendent prior to her job change.
It also was not immediately clear Friday whether Torkelson’s payout will come from the charter network, which drew 90 percent of its funding from state and federal taxpayers in 2018-19, or its private offshoot IPS Enterprises. The private organization takes in fundraising dollars that, according to IDEA leaders, have been used to pay for some scrutinized expenses, such as private aircraft usage and luxury boxes at San Antonio’s AT&T Center.
In the separation agreement, obtained through a public records request, IDEA leaders and Torkelson said the deal was reached “to avoid a protracted dispute process, to avoid extensive legal expenses and costs including litigation costs that might otherwise be incurred, to preserve needed philanthrophy to IDEA and to resolve any and all disputes with finality.”
“With respect to the transition of Tom Torkelson as CEO and Executive Chair of IDEA Public Schools, the IDEA board and Tom worked earnestly to facilitate an orderly transition,” IDEA Board Chairman Al Lopez wrote in a letter to IDEA affiliates.
“With the assistance of professional advisers, counsel and a respected independent facilitator, an agreement was reached whereby IDEA Public Schools will pay Tom $900,000 to facilitate this transition.”
Torkelson drew widespread praise from charter advocates and other education leaders during his tenure building IDEA, which operates 91 schools in Texas enrolling 49,500 students, along with five campuses in Louisiana. IDEA is scheduled to open its first four Houston-area schools this year on two sites in northern Harris County.
However, his leadership came under fire in the months prior to resignation after the disclosure of plans to lease a private jet and costs totaling $400,000 associated with the luxury boxes and event tickets.
Immediately following his resignation, Torkelson said he believed there was “100 percent unanimity that this was the right call for the organization at this time.”
jacob.carpenter@chron.com
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IDEA Public Schools co-founder getting $900K in severance following resignation - Houston Chronicle
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