Required Protocol When the Governing Board Approves or Extends the Superintendent’s Contract or Sets the Salary of the Superintendent (K-12)

This update reviews the recommended protocol when the governing board wishes to approve or extend the superintendent’s contract or set the salary of the superintendent. , A. BOARD APPROVAL OF OR AMENDMENT TO EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, The statutes with respect to a governing board’s approval of a district superintendent’s employment agreement are set forth in the Government Code., 1. Open Session Ratification of the Superintendent’s Contract. , Government Code sections 53260-53264 apply to various local agency employment agreements, including school and college districts contracts involving the superintendent and other high level administrators. , Section 53262 provides that the contract of employment of a district superintendent “shall be ratified in an open session of the governing body which shall be reflected in the governing body’s minutes.” This provision assumes that the governing board took action in closed session to appoint or re-employ the superintendent pursuant to Government Code section 54957. If a closed session discussion occurs but no action is taken in closed session, any subsequent public session action should be described as an “approval” of the contract rather than a “ratification” of the contract.