ST. PAUL, Minn. – The superintendent who presided over a rash of student violence in the St. Paul school district over the past few years has been fired.

But she will not leave empty-handed. The St. Paul school board voted to give Valeria Silva $787,500 as part of her separation agreement.

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That dollar amount will include pension payments “through Oct. 1, 2019, which will enable her to earn a full pension in retirement,” the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Silva, who had been superintendent since 2009, was known for enacting a new student disciplinary policy designed to cut down on the number of suspensions and expulsions, particularly for minority students.

That policy was widely believed to be influenced by the radical Pacific Educational Group, a San Francisco-based consulting firm that promotes the notion that American schools are plagued by “white privilege,” to the detriment of students of color.

But the focus on keeping troublesome kids in school, often through the use of “time outs” and other soft discipline, was blamed by many for an outbreak of student violence in various schools in the district, including many assaults on teachers.

A growing percentage of St. Paul students have been leaving the district for suburban schools or charter schools, due to the ongoing violence, costing the district a great deal of money, according to the Pioneer Press.

The ongoing disciplinary problems led to the election of four new school board members last November who were critical of Silva. The newly-elected board took office in January and immediately began to spar with Silva. That led to her termination at a board meeting Tuesday might, the Pioneer Press reported.

Under terms of the separation agreement, Silva will remain with the district as a consultant through September 2017, according to the Pioneer Press.

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Former school board member Louise Seeba told the newspaper that she “counseled Silva to change her attitude and work with the new board to execute their agenda,” the Pioneer Press reported.

“She clearly didn’t do that,” Seeba was quoted as saying.

‘Our schools are not out of control’

In January, Silva raised many eyebrows by declaring that “our schools are not out of control.”

That statement was made against a backdrop of violence that reached a boiling point over the past year.

In one week last October, several teachers were injured when trying to stop an outbreak of fights between students, a student was found with a gun in his backpack, and a student was tased by a school resource officer after disrupting a classroom and repeatedly refusing to leave.

The situation boiled over last December, when a 16-year-old student assaulted and severely injured a high school teacher who was trying to break up a fight. The teacher has since filed a lawsuit against the district, claiming it failed to provide a secure environment.

The St. Paul teacher’s union reacted to that incident by suggesting it may strike if administrators failed to improve safety for teachers and other staff members.

In January a former St. Paul middle school teacher also filed a lawsuit against the district, claiming she was “punched, kicked and kneed by students on several occasions and endured regular verbal harassment that was vulgar and sexual in nature,” according to TwinCities.com.

The teacher said her repeated complaints to the school principal were met with hostility, and she was finally fired after she walked out of her classroom in fear.

One St. Paul teacher was recently quoted across the nation after she anonymously told a St. Paul columnist that “we’re afraid.”

Costly separation agreement

While many may support the school board’s decision to sack Silva, there is bound to be discussion over her six-figure severance package, particularly since she had already announced that she would leave her post voluntarily in December 2018, when a three-year contract extension she received from the old school board last year expired.

According to the Pioneer press, “Silva’s separation agreement effectively pays her half the salary should would have earned — $269,478 — over the final 30 months of her contract.

“There’s also $25,750 in longevity and deferred compensation she was already set to receive, and a $75,712 for 91 days of vacation.

“The board added a $100,000 severance, along with $103,350 in pension payments and insurance benefits worth an estimated $213,210.”

Former school board member John Brodrick called the board’s action to fire Silva “a poor financial decision.”

“You had a superintendent who said at the end of this contract she was going to step down,” he told the Pioneer Press. “Boards don’t get that luxury very often. They had time to set up a smooth search process.”

One board member, Jean O’Connell, cast one of two votes against firing Silva, and later announced that she will resign from the board June 30, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“The environment at this table has become so disrespectful, destructive and cynical that I can no longer be a part of it,” O’Connell was quoted as saying.