Brevard Public Schools superintendent Mark Rendell looks on as Bill Pearlman speaks during the public comment segment of a board meeting on Nov. 10, 2026.
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
We’ve never really associated “golden parachutes” with public employees. That is, until now.
In a hastily called meeting for 9 a.m. on Nov. 10 ― and over the passionate protestations of dozens of citizens ― the outgoing Brevard School Board approved what amounts to a generous severance package for Superintendent Mark Rendell, who announced last week he was taking a job with Eastern Florida State College.
This was done despite Rendell being under contract until 2028 and despite him forgoing the 90-day notice he was supposed to give the board. Instead, he leaves in the middle of the school year for a job that will likely pay him significantly less than the $307,484 we paid him last year. According to the Florida College System, the only EFSC employee making more than $222,000 annually is the college president.
Not to worry about his finances, the school board made sure he left with quite a parting gift. This is on top of the $10,000 bonus the board approved a few weeks before Rendell announced he was leaving.
The rush to approve the separation agreement before new school board members ― who will shift the balance of power on the board ― were due to be sworn in Nov. 17 may have been perfectly legal. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
The school board and superintendent work for us. Our hard-earned money pays their salaries and they should have had the decency to allow the new board the opportunity to vote on giving Rendell his door prize. But they didn’t.
Instead, they voted 3-1 to pay Rendell approximately 178 hours of unused vacation leave and 1,094.7 hours of unused sick leave. John Thomas, oftentimes the lone voice of reason on the board, voted no. Board member Gene Trent, who was defeated in his bid for reelection by Kyle Savage, did not attend the meeting.
Thomas said the board needed to “exercise sound judgment, protect taxpayer dollars and maintain public trust. It is about leading by example. Just because we have the authority to approve this agreement today does not mean we have an obligation to do so today.”
The vacation money I don’t mind. But sick leave? Sick leave is supposed to be used for illness or medical appointments, not a cash payout or good-health bonus. Why stop there? Why not pay him for unused bereavement leave or paternity leave?
The board tried using the deal negotiated with Rendell’s predecessor, Dr. Mark Mullins, as precedence and the reason for the payout, but the argument does not hold water. This board, the one flexing its muscles one last time, forced Mullins to resign in their first meeting on Nov. 22, 2022 and paid him a separation package equivalent to being fired without cause.
Comparing the two is apples to oranges.
“People have used the word severance. There’s not a severance agreement. This agreement is copy and paste from the same agreement as Dr. Mullins and while I acknowledge that is a different type of type of agreement or different type of separation than what we had four years ago, that those kinds of issues like the vacation pay is standard,” said outgoing board member Kayte Campbell, who chose not to run for reelection. “The sick leave is different.”
The board also argued that Rendell has reached retirement age and is entitled to the payout totalling six figures.
But Rendell is not being forced out, nor is he retiring. Instead, he is being paid to leave and we will foot the bill.
“Where are the priorities? Families are struggling with housing costs, insurance premiums, groceries and taxes,” said newly-elected board member Michelle McCormack, who commented during the lengthy public comment section of the meeting and asked the board to postpone the vote until the new board was sworn in.
“Every dollar spent on an unnecessary executive payout is a dollar unavailable for our classrooms. The appearance of impropriety matters. Even if this agreement is technically legal it doesn’t make it ethical, fiscally responsible or in the public interest.”
Added parent Stephanie Guerrero: “You’re supposed to work for us. Your job is not to protect each other or a superintendent on his way out the door. Your job is to protect students and the public’s money.”
One parent asked why there was such a rush to do this if there nothing sketchy about it.
Well, after this careless use of funds, I tell you what. I’ll never vote in favor of increased funding for Brevard Schools ever again.
Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on X @johnalbertorres. Support local journalism and become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Taxpayers get stuck with Brevard school chief’s golden parachute | Torres
Reporting by John A. Torres, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published November 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM.
