Webster seems to excuse him from paying penalty
Justin Murphy – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK – in the D&C on 5/15/21 on page A2
The Webster school board appears to have excused former superintendent Carmen Gumina from paying a $22,000 penalty for his hasty departure and instead is negotiating a severance package for him, even as a new instance of an apparent abuse of power came to light last week. Gumina announced April 29 that he would retire effect April 30. The news came just days after former teacher and coach Kali Watkins sued the district in federal court, alleging that Gumina had orchestrated a biased (and ultimately unsuccessful) prosecution of him on sexual assault charges.
Gumina’s employment contract stipulates that if he leaves his position without giving 90 days’ notice, he must pay the district 10% of his annual salary, which in 2020-21 was $223,993.
That sum is meant to compensate the district for “damage to the district which is difficult or impossible to calculate” stemming from an abrupt transition. The board, however, can waive the penalty.