Rialto Unified officials agreed with outgoing Superintendent Harold Cebrun that any future bad-mouthing will be costly, according to Cebrun’s separation agreement with the district.
The agreement, in which Cebrun waives any claims he might have against the district or its board, prohibits both parties from making disparaging or derogatory remarks on pain of a $20,000 payment to the offended party for each remark made.
“Dr. Cebrun agrees to refrain from any disparagement, criticism, defamation, libel or slander of, and making any derogatory or untruthful statements about the District and the Board or any member thereof,” the agreement, signed by Cebrun and board president Joanne Gilbert on Feb. 28, reads in part. “Neither the Board nor its individual members shall disparage, criticize, defame, libel or slander Dr. Cebrun to anyone.”
The non-disparagement clause was part of the agreement between Cebrun and the district allowing Cebrun to retire.
The board’s 4-1 decision — board member Edgar Montes cast the lone dissenting vote following a two-hour session behind closed doors — saved the district from paying Cebrun 18 months’ worth of salary, or $360,900, that they would have owed him if he were fired without cause.
Cebrun’s retirement was announced on March 7 and became effective on March 31 following six months of uncertainty, after he was placed on administrative leave in September 2013.
Cebrun, who was hired in February 2009, was placed on paid administrative leave along with his deputy James Wallace. The move was apparently part of the fallout from the arrest of former district accountant Judith Oakes, who had a personal relationship with the superintendent.
Wallace remains on administrative leave, but the district has announced that his contract will not be renewed after the 2014-15 school year.
Cebrun is not a suspect in the Oakes embezzlement case, according to Rialto police. She is accused of stealing $1.8 million in lunch money proceeds from the district’s Nutrition Services Department over the past eight years. Oakes is scheduled to appear in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court on Thursday.
Cebrun faced indirect criticism from two reviews from the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which helps public school districts with their finances. (Both reviews were requested of FCMAT in July 2013, prior to Oakes’ initial arrest in August.)
• On Jan. 6, FCMAT’s review of the district’s contract and purchasing processes found that “the highest level of administration” did not follow proper purchasing procedures and that contracts were sometimes approved by Cebrun or his office without proper oversight.
• On Jan. 14, FCMAT’s review of the district’s special education programs found “a systematic lack of focus on instruction and lack of guidance from the highest level of leadership,” along with more than $1 million in unnecessary expenses.
In terms of potential claims waived by Cebrun against the district, the agreement specifically cites the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Rehabilitation Act.
The separation agreement also spelled out the language of the public statement Gilbert read on March 7:
“Dr. Harold Cebrun, Sr. and the Board of the Rialto Unified School District have agreed that he will retire effective March 31, 2014. Dr. Cebrun has served in various capacities in public education for 40 years, including 5 years as Superintendent of the District. The Board respects Dr. Cebrun’s long history of service to public education, thanks him for his service to the District, and wishes him well in the future. Dr. Cebrun thanks the Board and District employees, students and parents for the opportunity to serve in Rialto for the past 5 years, and has only the best wishes for the District. Please direct any further inquiries to Joanne Gilbert, the District’s Board President.”
