Renee Foose, superintendent in Howard County since 2012, sued her school board in January after clashing with the new majority. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

The schools superintendent in Howard County, who recently sued her school board, has agreed to step down from the top job in her Maryland district as part of a settlement that pays her more than $1.6 million for the remaining three years of her contract, according to documents released Wednesday.

Renee Foose, 50, ended her nearly five-year tenure as superintendent of the Howard County school system Tuesday night in what was announced as a “retirement.” The agreement released Wednesday shows that Foose will receive four “post-termination payments” totaling more than $1.1 million, plus compensation related to retirement and other benefits.

Foose was replaced by Michael J. Martirano, most recently state superintendent of schools in West Virginia, who takes over as acting superintendent in Howard. Martirano, whose career includes work as superintendent in St. Mary’s County and as an administrator in Howard, began visiting schools and meeting staff members Wednesday.

Foose and the Howard school board had been at odds since shortly after the November election, when a new board majority was formed. Their differences attracted wide notice when she took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit against the board.

[Superintendent sues her school board, alleging unlawful interference, chaos]

On Tuesday night, Foose issued a statement thanking teachers, administrators and other employees, as well as students and their families and public officials who supported her.

“I am proud of my service to the Howard County Public School System and have every expectation that the commitment to excellence in our public schools will continue in the future,” she said.

Board Chairman Cynthia Vaillancourt, in turn, expressed appreciation for Foose’s “commitment and service,” saying that during Foose’s tenure, Howard has been ranked as the top school system in the state and one of the best in the country.

“We are grateful for her leadership,” she said, adding that Martirano will be acting superintendent while a search is conducted for a permanent leader.

The moderate tone of the messages was a counterpoint to months of political tension and turmoil in Howard.

Foose alleged in her lawsuit that the board majority was unlawfully interfering with her authority and creating chaos and uncertainty in the school system of nearly 55,000 students.

She asserted that the trouble began within an hour of the swearing-in of three new board members in December, as a five-member majority passed eight resolutions, many of which she said were aimed at limiting her powers. Howard has an eight-member school board that includes one student member.

Foose’s complaint also alleged that “at least one” board member made disparaging comments about Foose based on beliefs about her sexual orientation, questioning her ability “to support our kids if we have a lesbian superintendent” and suggesting Foose held sway with the previous all-female board because she was probably sleeping with them.

Tensions flared in the months that followed, including when the board snubbed one of Foose’s signature programs, intended to provide full scholarships to McDaniel College, in Westminster, Md., to low-income students who wanted to become teachers and would work in Howard for three years.

[Program to improve teacher diversity will offer full college scholarships]

Foose had been given a second four-year contract in February 2016, a decision supported by a board majority that included three members who then lost their races in last year’s elections.

Controversies over school superintendents are not unusual. A recent uproar in Queen Anne’s County involved a superintendent who had come to the end of a second contract, which was not renewed, much to the surprise and dismay of many in her community.

[Furor on Maryland’s Eastern Shore as critics seek to oust school board majority]

In Howard, Foose, who previously worked in school-system leadership positions in Montgomery and Baltimore counties, earned a base salary of $273,262 a year as superintendent, according to her contract.

The terms of her successor’s contract are still being finalized, officials said.

Meantime, there are shake-ups on the board as well. On Wednesday, board member Christine O’Connor submitted her resignation. O’Connor, elected in 2014 and a past chairman of the board, had become part of the board’s two-member minority faction and supported Foose.

She said in an interview Wednesday she could no longer be aligned with the five-member board majority and its “political nonsense” and disruption.

“Their mission is not about the students, it’s about the politics,” she said. “What they did to Dr. Foose is unforgivable. I’m hoping the school system will be able to maintain all that she’s done for us.”

O’Connor said that it appears the school system will essentially be paying two superintendents at the same time, with Foose out and another leader in the position, in addition to steep legal fees.

“It’s a complete mismanagement of the taxpayers’ money and it didn’t have to be this way,” she said. “The money should be being used for our students.”

O’Connor said she wished that the school board had gone to mediation with Foose, as she said was set forth in a recent ruling from the Maryland State Board of Education.

Neither Foose nor the board’s chairman, Vaillancourt, was available for additional comment.