Ackerman could get $1.5 million to leave Phila.

As rumors swirled that Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman is negotiating a $1 million buyout, an Inquirer analysis of her contract shows she could be entitled to a $1.5 million severance package.

Under the provisions of her contract - including a recent one-year extension - Ackerman stands to collect three years of salaries and benefits if the Philadelphia School Reform Commission forced her out without cause. The package would include three years of salary, life insurance, supplemental pension funds and payments for un-used vacation days, as well as a $100,000 retention bonus.

Ackerman deferred taking that bonus June 30, citing the the district's financial struggles.

Jamilah Fraser, the district's chief communications officer, confirmed the $1.5 million estimate but stressed that Ackerman has no plans to leave the district and its 154,482 students.

"Unless the powers that be decide that her services are no longer needed at the District, she intends, and wants, to remain in the position, fighting to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education," Fraser said in a statement.

Late last month, Ackerman herself dismissed rumors that she was leaving. At that time, she acknowledged signing documents delegating authority to sign district documents to Deputy Superintendent Leroy Nunery during July and August. But she said it was routine paperwork, recommended by attorneys while she is on vacation.

State Rep. Michael McGeehan, one of Ackerman's most vocal critics, Friday called on Mayor Nutter and Gov. Corbett to oppose an early buyout. Giving her money to exit the district, he said, would not only amount to handing her a golden parachute but a "pure platinum one."

He said the superintendent has so "woefully mismanaged" the district that she should be fired for cause.

McGeehan cited several issues in Ackerman's three-year tenure, including questionable procurement practices, a federal report criticizing the district's handling of racial violence at South Philadelphia High School, a $629 million budget shortfall, and an expanding probe into possible cheating on state PSSA tests.

McGeehan, a Northeast Democrat, said members of his staff met with Corbett's aides Friday and hand-delivered his letter.

Ackerman's contract states that if she is terminated for cause, the SRC must give her three months written notice unless she is alleged to have committed a felony. She would be entitled to benefits due on her termination date but would not be entitled to anything further.

If Ackerman elects to step down, her contract says she must give the SRC 90 days notice and forego further salaries and benefits.

Ackerman is paid a base salary of $348,140 under the terms of the five-year contract she signed with the district in 2008. She received an automatic, one-year extension to 2014 in March when neither she nor the SRC signaled their intentions to end the agreement.

At that time, Shana Kemp, a district spokeswoman pointed out that the SRC had adopted "Imagine 1014," Ackerman's five-year reform plan.

The one year extension, Kemp said, would enable Ackerman to lead the district through the full implementation of the initiative.

"The SRC believes that stability in the leadership of the district during the full implementation of the plan is highly desirable," Kemp said then. "The SRC looks forward to the opportunity to continue working with Dr. Arlene Ackerman as the superintendent as we pursue the goals of Imagine 2014."

A small band of Ackerman supporters held a rally Friday to decry efforts to oust her.

"We've heard that there is a move afoot to remove Dr. Ackerman, that they will discontinue all of the 2011-2012 Promise Academies, so we had to act," said Pamela Williams, organizer of the gathering, which drew about 15 people.

Promise Academies are district-run turnaround schools that receive extra money to operate. There were six such schools in the 2010-11 school year; 11 more are planned to open in September. The schools are a key component of Imagine 2014.

Williams wants Ackerman to serve out her contract. She also wants Nutter to pledge $15 million to keep Promise Academies open, and she demanded that Chief Financial Officer Michael Masch open the district's financial records for all to see.

The rally was to have been held outside district headquarters at 440 N. Broad St., but intense heat moved the gathering to the atrium inside the building.

Williams, who is a school police officer, led the event, and spoke for 20 minutes about the problems of education and how Ackerman is working to solve them.

"We stand here today to say: Give her the opportunity to work through her Imagine 2014 initiative," said Williams, who is also the chair of the Daroff School Advisory Council.

Most of those attending the rally were with Mothers in Charge, an organization that works to stop youth violence. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, the founder of the group, said she thinks most people in Philadelphia think Ackerman has done a good job.

"We support her. We stand behind everything that she's done since she's been here in the district. She's really doing some great programs and making a difference in children's education," said Johnson-Speight.

Williams attributed the lack of attendance to the heat, and said another rally will be held Tuesday at City Hall.

"Don't think because I have this little bit of people behind me, that there isn't a force of parents and civic leaders and people who care about the children in the city of Philadelphia," Williams said.

A district source said the posters at the rally were made by the district's communications office, though district officials denied that.

"That's not correct," Kemp said. "The posters were not prepared by us."