Education A National Roundup

Portland, Ore., Schools Must Pay $620,000 for Firing Employee

By John Gehring — September 07, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Portland, Ore., public schools must pay a former employee $620,000 for wrongful termination and harm to his reputation, according to an arbitrator’s decision.

Steve Goldschmidt, a former director of human resources in the 53,000-student district, was fired in February by Superintendent Vicki Phillips for “gross neglect of duty,” a district spokeswoman said.

The district refused to pay the $357,000 in severance money outlined in a contract he negotiated under a former superintendent and a previous school board.

But last month, an arbitrator found the district had no just cause in terminating Mr. Goldschmidt, who had received a positive evaluation two months before he was fired. Mr. Goldschmidt is a brother of former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt.

Bobbie Regan and David Wynde, the co-chairmen of the Portland board of education, issued a joint statement on Aug. 23 supporting the superintendent’s decision.

Money paid to Mr. Goldschmidt, they noted, “is covered by district insurance and will not require the school district to divert any funds from the classroom or change our budget for next year.”

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reimagining Grading in K-12 Schools: A Conversation on the Value of Standards-Based Grading
Hear from K-12 educational leaders and explore standards-based grading benefits and implementation strategies and challenges
Content provided by Otus
Reading & Literacy Webinar How Background Knowledge Fits Into the ‘Science of Reading’ 
Join our webinar to learn research-backed strategies for enhancing reading comprehension and building cultural responsiveness in the classroom.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Innovative Strategies for Data & Assessments
Join our webinar to learn strategies for actionable instruction using assessment & analysis.
Content provided by Edulastic

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Trending Education News
How well do you know the trending news in education? Test your knowledge by taking our quiz.
Education Briefly Stated: March 15, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: March 8, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 22, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read