HISD board tweaks Superintendent Grier's contract
The Houston school board voted this morning to amend Superintendent Terry Grier's contract to ease his tax burden — a move that won't cost local taxpayers anything, according to HISD's private attorney David Thompson.
"There is no increase in the value, no increase in the length" of the contract, Thompson said.
The changes ensure that any payments Grier earns for accrued vacation, personal and sick leave will go into his retirement plan — rather than him being paid cash, which would cost him in taxes. Grier's base salary is $300,000 a year, and his contract guarantees him 30 vacation days, five personal leave days and 30 sick days a year. If he doesn't use them — which he likely won't, if he's not sick for six weeks — he gets paid his daily rate for them.
This added to up big bucks for Grier's predecessor, Abelardo Saavedra. But Saavedra's contract gave him more time off — including 60 personal days and 20 vacation days — and