Superintendent Leaving District After Council Rock School Board Vote: What To Know

NEWTOWN, PA — The Council Rock Board of School Directors approved a separation agreement with Dr. Robert Fraser, the district's superintendent since 2015, in a 6-3 vote Thursday night.

The separation agreement detailed that Fraser had been approved for medical leave up until April 30. Now, he will remain on leave, and April 30 will be the final date of his employment with the school district. His contract had previously extended until June 30, 2025.

Board president and vice president Ed Salamon and Michael Thorwart announced Wednesday that Fraser's separation agreement would be put to a vote in the Thursday special meeting.

They said in their message that the agreement was "amicable," and that the board and Fraser had agreed to explore separation at the start of his leave.

But in an email screenshot shared with Patch Thursday, Fraser apparently disputed that timing to Council Rock staff.

"I did not agree to explore a separation agreement at the beginning of my leave, nor was there any such conversation between the Board and me at that time," the message reads.

Fraser apparently confirmed in that email that he began his leave to deal with health issues, and will continue on leave for that reason.

"I did not begin to seek any type of separation from the District until an incident occurred shortly after my leave began," his message continued. "I want you to have this information for you to not misinterpret what has transpired regarding my leave and separation from the District."

Fraser's second five-year contract with the district had been unanimously approved by board members in January of 2020. Board member Yota Palli said she found the separation agreement "perplexing" given that the board was apparently satisfied with Fraser's performance at that time.

"I believe the majority of this board was not transparent on this intention of separation with Dr. Fraser," she said in a comment prior to Thursday night's vote.

She said she was told board member Kristin Marcell approached Fraser late last year to discuss the possibility of separation but did not give an explicit reason at that time.

Then, Palli said she was told Fraser had gotten an attorney to advise him following his performance review — and so she voted for the board to retain an attorney, too. But she said she later learned that he had not actually hired an attorney prior to that vote, only obtaining one after the board hired one.

Palli said that, to her knowledge, the only time Fraser vocally disagreed with the board majority was in his advocacy for masking and mitigation measures in response to recent COVID-19 surges.

“Nevertheless, Dr. Fraser did follow the board’s direction," she said. "I don’t find it prudent and in the best interests of the public and our students to have a costly separation with a very competent superintendent, only because he recommended the advice of the experts.”

Two public commenters, including recent school board candidate Nicole Khan, also called for greater transparency from the board in its decision-making.

Marcell asked solicitor Robert Cox to confirm that discussing personnel matters privately in executive session was based on his advice. He said it was and called the board's executive sessions around separation, and communication to the public, "appropriate" and "lawful."

“I simply want to say from the bottom of my heart thank you to Dr. Fraser for his dedicated, passionate, wise, and devoted service to our school district," board member Edward Tate said at the meeting.

Tate and Palli voted against the separation agreement, as did board member Mariann McKee.

After the vote, board member Joseph Hidalgo asked Palli if she would like for Fraser's performance reviews to be made public in the spirit of transparency. Cox clarified that reviews of any employee should be confidential.

Marilyn Scarpa, an education advocate who previously worked with Council Rock Aware, said a board member in 2020 told her that some other board members began expressing a desire for Fraser's removal soon after the unanimous contract approval that January.

"They claim they’re fiscally responsible, but this is not fiscally responsible," she told Patch in a phone interview Thursday. "If they weren’t happy with [Fraser], then they should have never awarded him a new contract. That was irresponsible, and now the taxpayers are paying for it."

Per the separation agreement, Fraser will receive 24 days of vacation pay totaling $20,916.92, a contribution to his 403 (b) account of $28,463, and a lump sum payment of $238,356. He signed the separation agreement Thursday, and will not participate in district functions between now and April 30 unless agreed upon by himself and Salamon.

The school board did not say how and when a search for the new superintendent will proceed, although technology integration specialist Hannah Pressman was promoted to help in the assistant superintendent's office while Susan Elliott fulfills both assistant superintendent and substitute superintendent duties.

"I do ask that moving forward, in the search for a new district superintendent, the community is involved and we have transparency in the process," Khan said in her public comment Thursday.

In the email screenshot sent to Patch, Fraser thanked staff for the opportunity to serve Council Rock, saying, “It has been an honor."

The school board members and a spokesperson for the Council Rock School District did not respond to Patch's requests for comment Thursday. The next Council Rock Board of School Directors meeting is scheduled for March 3.

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