LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
More than six months after audits revealed $3.24 million in grant funding reserved for Paris Union School District 95 (Paris 95) was misappropriated, the district and Superintendent Jeremy Larson are parting ways. The news broke during a special Paris 95 Board of Education meeting on Friday, Dec. 29, when board members approved a mutual separation agreement between Larson and the board.
The agreement, and with it the end of the professional relationship between Larson and Paris 95, takes effect on Dec. 31, 2023.
The board also announced the resignation of Larson’s wife, Jaime Larson, who served as an elementary teacher within the district.
The mutual separation agreement, which the district provided to The Prairie Press, outlines several stipulations regarding Larson’s exit. According to the agreement, Larson will receive “Payment for the monetary amount of the salary” of the superintendent through Dec. 31 and pay for 20 unused vacation days. The amount paid to Larson will not include the salary of the Memorial Elementary principal – a position held by Larson until earlier this year.
According to Illinois State Board of Education records, Larson’s annual superintendent salary for 2023 clocked in at $57,975, not counting benefits. Larson also received this amount for his role as the Memorial principal.
The agreement mutually absolves both Larson and the Paris 95 Board of Education of “all civil liability, claims, demands, actions, causes of action, suits, grievances, debts, sums of money, agreements, promises, damages, costs, expenses attorney’s fees, and remedies of any type, whether concealed or not concealed, known or unknown, regarding any act or failure to act that occurred during the employment of the Superintendent.”
During the meeting, Paris 95 board president Kevin Knoepfel offered a statement concerning the next steps for the district.
“The board will immediately begin its search for a new superintendent with the expected start date to be no later than July 1, 2024,” he explained.
Knoepfel also mentioned the board plans to enlist an outside agency to assist with the search for the new superintendent. In the meantime, Lorraine Bailey will remain as acting superintendent of the district until a replacement is found.
Bailey specified to a Prairie Press reporter that the district plans to use the Illinois School Board Association (IASB) to aid in the hiring process.
“Our next step will be to call the school board association on Tuesday and get a search started with them as soon as we can,” Bailey explained.