The Athens City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to buy out the contract of Superintendent Trey Holladay at its meeting on Thursday at Athens High School. Holladay was placed on administrative leave in June after the FBI searched his home as part of a federal investigation. Holladay had been superintendent for ACS since 2013.

Russell Johnson, the president of the ACS School Board, read the following statement after the members voted on the buyout:

“As you all know, in June 2020, Dr. Holladay was placed on administrative leave. In the four months since that time, the school system has fully cooperated with a federal investigation, and, per the superintendent contract, has continued to pay Holladay’s salary and related benefits. The investigation remains ongoing and confidential at the request of federal officials. The Board has not been informed of a date certain for the conclusion of the investigation. Dr. Holladay has almost two years remaining on his superintendent contract.

“After a full review of the present situation and the uncertainties attendant with our circumstances, the board of education believes that it is both timely and appropriate to make a change in leadership and that such a change is in the best interest of Athens City Schools. With that in mind, the Board has agreed with Dr. Holladay to terminate Dr. Holladay’s contract, so that his tenure as superintendent will conclude on Oct. 31, 2020. The system has negotiated a full and final settlement payment of $250,000 with Dr. Holladay.

“This settlement payment resolves and eliminates any further compensation and other expenses which we may have otherwise been obliged to pay related to this matter and provides us a financial savings and more certainty for our financial obligations under Dr. Holladay’s employment contract. The Board believes that this settlement is in the best interest of the school system and the students we serve as it will allow us to move forward and focus on our school system’s future. A separation agreement with Holladay has been approved by the Board.

“In the weeks to come, the Board will begin the process and timeline for posting and selecting a new superintendent. I anticipate that we will have a new superintendent in place very soon.

“The school system is in good financial shape, and we look forward to focusing on fully reopening our schools safely, rebuilding Athens Elementary, and planning for the future growth of this community.

“In the meantime, Beth Patton remains the acting superintendent of Athens City Schools. This has been a difficult year for the school system filled with many different challenges, and the Board very much appreciates her leadership during this time.”

After reading the statement, Johnson asked the board to vote to name Patton interim superintendent, with the members voting unanimously to do so. Johnson told the audience that legally the system is allowed to appoint an interim superintendent for 180 days before a permanent candidate must be put in place. He said he does not expect the process to take that long.

“I anticipate we will have the first board meeting on that probably the first week of November,” he said. “We have a lot of logistics to work out, but we will move as quickly as the law will allow us. We will have to have a board meeting where we publicly state what our process is going to be. We will advertise the position. There is a 30-day time limit from the time we post until the time we can hire. We will start collecting resumes and have some work sessions. We will do interviews and have a vote hopefully in the near future.”

Patton said she does plan on applying for the position.