Former Superintendent Millard House II received a payout from Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) of $877,578.70, almost $150,000 more than previously known or estimated by news reports. On July 24, the News Review reported that House must have received at least $733,992, which we calculated based on our projections of 24 months of his salary with annual cost of living adjustments, noting that how much it exceeded that by was unknown. The separation agreement related to his departure, shared in response to a Public Information Act request, contained no financial figures whatsoever, leading to reporting of approximate figures, such as “at least $730,000,” by the Washington Post, for example. On Thursday, July 24, the News Review received supplemental information related to our public information act requests showing that the payout was over $877,578.
“To this office’s best knowledge and understanding, the final severance payout to former Superintendent House was $877,578.70,” stated the letter to the Greenbelt News Review from Sally Robinson, associate general counsel for PGCPS. “At the time of this office’s response earlier this month, all responsive records had not yet been provided for review. Since then, the responsive record regarding the compensation paid to Mr. House has been provided,” wrote Robinson. The News Review sought a breakdown of the severance payment but while PGCPS shared the amount of the payout, Robinson wrote that the “record itself is not subject to disclosure pursuant to the personnel record exemption, the individual person’s finances exemption, and sociological information exemption.”
The $877,578.70 sum is comprised of two years’ salary, payment for unused accrued leave and contributions to the former Superintendent’s tax-sheltered retirement account, Robinson told the News Review. “The value of benefits being maintained are not reflected in the amount stated in the letter,” she said.
