The superintendent of the Howard County (Md.) school district has sued her own school board, contending that board members have taken a series of illegal steps aimed at undermining her authority.
The lawsuit filed in Howard County Circuit Court details several ways in which Foose believes that board members have sought to strip her of her authority.
When the board was sworn in Dec. 5, it passed eight resolutions, including a move to give it responsibility over board staff, such as the board administrator, secretarial staff and internal auditor. Board members say the changes were made to increase transparency.
The board also prohibited Foose from communicating with counsel on legal matters and gave the board authority to control and fire specific employees. Later that month, the board voted to enter into a contract with attorney Daniel Furman for $24,999 — $1 shy of the amount that requires a public, competitive bidding process — to serve as legal counsel to the board.
Foose declined to approve the contract, which required her consent, and deemed it invalid and illegitimate.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that upholds her decision to reject Furman's contract. It also asks the court to void the resolutions she deems unlawful and instruct the board not to exclude her from meetings she's legally required to attend.
Foose became superintendent of the 53,000-student Howard County district in 2012. She received a contract extension last year that pays her new $273,000 a year.
