News 12 First at Five, February 9, 2010

AUGUSTA --- Dr. Dana Bedden has been the superintendent of Richmond County schools for less than three years, and now it appears that he's flirting with another job.

The Richmond County Board of Education called an executive meeting Tuesday afternoon to negotiate his contract. Dr. Bedden did not attend the meeting; he is in Arizona at a conference.

The news that he is a candidate in another district leaves some Richmond County board members frustrated.

"I am stumped. I don't know what's gonna come out of this," said board member Frank Dolan.

"That's fine," he added. "You want to go talk to other districts? That's fine. I guess we can go talk to other superintendents as well."

Dr. Bedden's contract ends in July. School board members have been in negotiations for months on a new deal and continued during Tuesday's executive board meeting.

"I thought it was finished," Dolan said of the negotiations. "I just don't know where we are in this process anymore."

Board member Jack Padgett, Jr. summed it up:

"The big bad wolf at the door is money," he said.

And he says that's exactly what is on the table. The board is considering adding Dr. Bedden's performance-based bonus to his actual base salary, increasing it by $15,000.

"It's a matter of saying how valuable he is to us," Padgett added.

Board members say Dr. Bedden has talked with several other districts, including the one in Irving, a Dallas suburb. And a meeting on Monday between representatives from that district and several Richmond County board members created some tension.

"I don't understand what you could say to a competing district," Dolan said. "'He's awful, take him'? Or 'he's good, take him'?"

And now, three years after hiring Dr. Bedden, members are bracing for the possibility of having to go through the selection process all over again.

School board member Eloise Curtis said continually hiring a new superintendent can take its toll on schools.

"[Superintendents] come in and they bring people in, they move people around and so forth, and it just keeps people in sort of a tizzy," said Curtis.

"We were kind of hoping he would want to stay for a while," she added.

News 12 placed several calls to Dr. Bedden for comment, but they have not yet been returned.

Dr. Bedden's entire 2009 salary comes out to just more than $230,000. That includes his base pay, insurance, car allowance and retirement benefits, along with his performance bonus.

School board members say they hope to have the contract resolved sometime next week.

Not all members are surprised to learn he is talking with other districts. One member even said it is expected, and just another part of the negotiation process.