Coming on the heels of that included the , elimination of more than 85 teachers and the slashing of a number of educational programs, the Lakeville Area Public School District's School Board is now faced with a retirement announcement by Superintendent Gary Amoroso that he will leave the district with a post-retirement compensation tab of more than $360,000.

from Lakeville schools and from public education in a March 15 email sent to staff members. His official letter of retirement was presented to the School Board for approval during last night's regularly scheduled meeting. Amorso is leaving the district effective June 30 to take a position as executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA), a non-profit professional organization. He has previously served as that organization's president in 2009-2010. Lakeville School Board member Bob Erickson urged the board to remove approval of Amoroso's retirement request from the consent agenda. The item was listed under standard resignations and leave of absence notifications that also included other district employees.

That motion was adopted by singling out Amoroso's name. While the board has no ability to officially deny Amoroso's retirement, it was clear some of the terms of his departure didn't sit well.

Under terms of , the total compensation due to him from the district after his departure due to retirement comes to $361,572 according to district administration and is broken down as follows: Severance and termination compensation: approximately $91,000

Unused sick leave: approximately $91,000

Medical insurance benefit for 10 years: $163,000

Dental insurance benefits for 10 years: $15,000

Erickson stated that the retirement compensation was consistent in keeping with the district's agreement with Education Minnesota – Lakeville's general provisions that covered other district employees. Erickson did question the severance compensation specifically, though, calling it "a little suspect."

The district has already received feedback from attorneys at the law firm of Knutson, Flynn and Deans that essentially indicated the district would have to satisfy the terms of the contract as written.

Under the terms, Amoroso would not be entitled to the severance portion of the retirement package if he were either discharged or enters into a new employment contract within 30 days of his effective retirement. Since neither of those conditions has or is likely to occur, the $91,000 in severance and benefits would have to be honored.