South Bend school board calls emergency meeting to vote on placing superintendent on leave

This story was updated to add new information.

SOUTH BEND — The South Bend Community School Corp. (SBCSC) board has called an emergency public meeting for Friday, Feb. 14, to vote on placing Superintendent Todd Cummings on administrative leave with pay.

The meeting will take place Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Brown Administration Building, 737 Beale St. In addition to the action item of putting Cummings on administrative leave, the agenda sent out on Wednesday, Feb. 12, includes appointing a temporary superintendent “if needed.” The public will also have an opportunity to address the board on the two agenda items before a vote is taken.

A source with the board told The Tribune that the board will evaluate Cummings’ decision to not cancel school on Feb. 6 when road conditions were icy. The agenda says the administrative leave will last until a “full investigation is completed” into the matter.

Under board bylaw 0122.1, the board has the power to select the superintent and “evaluate and monitor the performance of the Superintendent in the administration of policy.” Bylaw 0164.3 says the board may call an emergency meeting in the event of “severe and imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare” of the corporation, its employees, students, superintendent or board itself, “if it can be shown that delay would be detrimental to efforts to lessen or respond to the threat.”

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannet.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend school board calls emergency meeting about Todd Cummings