Ousted Cheltenham superintendent will keep getting paid

Cheltenham's school superintendent, fired this week after a spectacular downfall, will be paid the balance of her $180,000 annual salary and receive health benefits through June 30.

Natalie Thomas, a lightning rod in the district almost since the day she was hired in June 2013, also will be paid for 10 sick days, 11 vacation days, and three personal days that she had not used, according to the separation agreement, a copy of which was obtained by The Inquirer through a Right-to-Know request.

On Tuesday night, during a brief special meeting, the school board voted unanimously to part ways with Thomas. It did not release details of her severance package until late Wednesday.

The longtime educator had been at odds with her staff since she made a number of administrative reassignments that resulted in several high-profile departures and an unfair labor practices complaint from the teachers' union.

Her administrative style angered many in the community, according to former teachers, administrators, and board members, who complained about her to the board in a highly publicized letter last October.

Last month the board hired a former superintendent, William Keifer, to "monitor" Thomas, and privately began negotiating her departure. Her attorney, Thomas Kelly, did not return a call for comment.

Thomas, now on a paid leave of absence until Feb. 28, will receive her salary until the end of the school year, which would mark the end of the second year of a four-year contract.

As part of the agreement, the district also will give Thomas money to purchase her work computer. If the two sides cannot come up with a purchase price, the district will transfer her personal information from the computer to a hard drive.

In addition to her health benefits, Thomas will be allowed to participate in the district's COBRA plan if she does not have alternative insurance by June.

The district also agreed not to report Thomas's departure to the Pennsylvania Department of Education or the Professional Standards and Practices Commission unless required to do so. In return, Thomas promised not to sue the district - as she has her previous employers - and to cooperate with Cheltenham in any claims against the district resulting from her tenure. The district agreed not to say anything that would interfere with her future employment.