Verletta White to become paid consultant to superintendent

Will remain employee of system, earning $232,700 salary for the next year

White

Verletta White will become a paid consultant to the Baltimore County’s new superintendent next week, earning a salary of $232,700 for the next year.

The new contract, signed by White on Monday, also gives her an $8,770 stipend for a car and a $2,000 stipend for her phone, as well as benefits. Although she is called a consultant, she will remain an employee of the system, with the same medical and pension benefits as any other administrator.

School officials turned over the contract to The Baltimore Sun after the news publication filed a Maryland Public Information Act request.

White was the chief academic officer when she took over the job of interim superintendent in July 2017. The contract she negotiated then had language that allowed her to have her job back as a chief academic officer or a similar position if she was not named the permanent superintendent. It also guaranteed her the chief academic officer salary for the coming year. During the 2016-2017 school year, the last year she was the chief academic officer, White earned $208,800.

The recently signed contract between the two sides acknowledges the awkwardness of having White continue as a chief academic officer working under the new superintendent, Darryl L. Williams, who takes over next week.

“The board and the employee believe that the employee’s presence as the chief academic officer following the appointment of a new superintendent would cause confusion to members of the administration,” the contract states.

The board also acknowledged that White had expertise that “is helpful to the success of the school system.”

As a consultant, White will advise Williams on the recruitment and retention of teachers, particularly in difficult-to-fill areas such as special education, math and science. High teacher turnover is a problem across the nation and in the county, which hires about 900 each year. In a news release, the school system said White “will examine this phenomenon by analyzing data, and meeting with teachers, staff, university partners, and school system officials in BCPS and across the nation. Quarterly, White will provide updates on her findings and make recommendations to the superintendent.”

White and school board members could not immediately be reached for comment.

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