Paul Kadri Received $163,000 From Groton After Being Placed on Leave

Former Superintendent Paul Kadri received $163,559.69 after being placed on administrative leave May 7, including payments received after his firing, according to documents obtained through a freedom of information request.

The documents show Groton paid Kadri $150,275.74 in regular bi-weekly salary from May 7, 2012 through March 1, 2013; $3,208.34 for five unused vacation days on July 20, 2012 and $10,075.31 as a final payoff on March 6.

Kadri filed a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor on April 1, saying he was denied $8,354.86, which he was owed under the terms of his contract.

Kadri said he was owed $18,000 for pay from Feb. 24 through March 5, plus 20 vacation days, but received a check for $10,000 instead. A labor department spokeswoman said earlier this week the case must still be assigned to an investigator to determine if it has merit.

Kadri also sent an email to members of the Groton Board of Education, saying that by law they were required to issue him any remaining money owed to him by March 6.

“It was not a lot of money and it constituted my remaining vacation days and a percentage of my last paycheck.  It is a simple calculation done by every organization in the country,” he said. “In an effort to harass me further, you sent me a check on March 6th for a fraction of what I was due with no explanation as to how the fake number was reached.”

Kadri added that he believes the school board’s lawyer was overly involved in the business office at taxpayer expense.

The school board fired Kadri March 5 after Arbitrator Timothy Bornstein found “due and sufficient cause” to terminate his contract. Bornstein found that Kadri abused, humiliated and threatened employees, according to the decision issued in the case. Bornstein did not find Kadri guilty of moral misconduct.

The school board meets next at 7 p.m. on Monday in the Town Hall Annex to continue discussing its search for a new superintendent.