Document:

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                                                                     Exhibit 4.1

                             CONSENT AND AMENDMENT

     THIS CONSENT AND AMENDMENT dated as of December 10, 2001 (this "Consent")
                                                                     -------
relating to the Credit Agreement referenced below is by and among SCHOOL
SPECIALTY, INC., a Wisconsin corporation (the "Borrower"), the Subsidiaries of
                                               --------
the Borrower identified as "Guarantors" on the signature pages hereto, the
Lenders identified on the signature pages hereto and Bank of America, N.A., as
Administrative Agent (in such capacity, the "Administrative Agent"). Terms used
                                             --------------------
herein but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided to such
terms in the Credit Agreement.

                               W I T N E S S E T H

     WHEREAS, a $350 million credit facility has been extended to the Borrower
pursuant to the terms of that Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of
September 30, 1998 (as amended, modified, supplemented, increased and extended
from time to time, the "Credit Agreement") by and among the Borrower, the
                        ----------------
Guarantors, the Lenders and the Administrative Agent;

     WHEREAS, the Borrower proposes to acquire the Premier Agenda business of
Franklin Covey Co. for a purchase price of approximately $152,500,000 in cash
(the "Proposed Acquisition");
      --------------------

     WHEREAS, the purchase price of the Proposed Acquisition would (a) exceed
the maximum purchase price permitted for any single acquisition under Section
8.4(c)(ii)(A) of the Credit Agreement and (b) together with prior acquisitions
during the current fiscal year, exceed the maximum cash consideration permitted
for all acquisitions in any fiscal year under Section 8.4(c)(ii)(B);

     WHEREAS, the Borrower has requested that the Lenders consent to the
Proposed Acquisition; and

     WHEREAS, the Required Lenders have agreed to the requested consent on the
terms and conditions set forth herein.

     NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the premises and other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

     1. Consents.
        --------

        (a) The Required Lenders hereby consent to the Proposed Acquisition
     notwithstanding the limitations set forth Section 8.4(c)(ii)(A) and Section
     8.4(c)(ii)(B) of the Credit Agreement, provided that (a) each of the other
                                            --------
     conditions set forth in Section 8.4(c)(ii) of the Credit Agreement and any
     other applicable provision of the Credit Agreement shall have been
     satisfied, and (b) the Borrower shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to,
     comply with Section 7.11 of the Credit Agreement.

        (b) The Required Lenders hereby agree that the cash consideration for
     the Proposed Acquisition shall not be included in any calculation of the
     aggregate cash consideration limit set forth in Section 8.4(c)(ii)(B) for
     the current fiscal year.

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        (c) Each of the foregoing consents and agreements is a one-time consent,
     applies only to the specific facts and shall not be construed to be (i) a
     waiver as to compliance with the terms of the Credit Agreement in any other
     instance, (ii) a waiver as to compliance with any other terms of the Credit
     Agreement, (iii) a waiver of any Default or Event of Default that may
     otherwise exist or (iv) a waiver of any other rights or remedies the
     Lenders may have under the Credit Agreement, the other Credit Documents or
     applicable law.

     2. Amendment. Section 8.1(d) of the Credit Agreement is amended to read as
        ---------
follows:

        (d) Indebtedness and obligations in connection with Permitted
        Securitization Transactions; provided that the total Attributed
                                     --------
        Principal Amount for all such financings shall not exceed $100,000,000
        at any time;

     3. Conditions Precedent. This Consent shall be effective as of the date
        --------------------
hereof upon satisfaction of the following conditions precedent:

        (a) receipt by the Administrative Agent of multiple counterparts of this
     Consent executed by the Credit Parties and the Required Lenders; and

        (b) receipt by the Administrative Agent, for the ratable benefit of the
     Lenders that execute this Consent (the "Consenting Lenders") of a consent
                                             ------------------
     fee equal to five (5) basis points (0.05%) on the aggregate Revolving
     Commitments of the Consenting Lenders.

     4. Reaffirmation of Representations and Warranties. The Credit Parties
        -----------------------------------------------
hereby affirm that the representations and warranties set forth in the Credit
Documents are true and correct as of the date hereof after giving effect to this
Consent (except those that expressly relate to an earlier period).

     5. Reaffirmation of Guaranty. Each of the Guarantors (i) acknowledges and
        -------------------------
consents to all of the terms and conditions of this Consent, (ii) affirms all of
its obligations under the Credit Documents and (iii) agrees that this Consent
and all documents executed in connection herewith do not operate to reduce or
discharge the Guarantors' obligations under the Credit Agreement and the other
Credit Documents.

     6. No Other Changes. Except as modified hereby, all of the terms and
        ----------------
provisions of the Credit Agreement and the other Credit Documents (including the
schedules and exhibits thereto) shall remain in full force and effect.

     7. Counterparts. This Consent may be executed in any number of
        ------------
counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be deemed an
original and it shall not be necessary in making proof of this Consent to
produce or account for more than one such counterpart.

     8. Governing Law. This Consent shall be deemed to be a contract made under,
        -------------
and for all purposes shall be construed in accordance with, the laws of the
State of New York.

                  [Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]

                                        2

<PAGE>

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused a counterpart of
this Consent to be duly executed and delivered as of the date first above
written.

BORROWER:                        SCHOOL SPECIALTY, INC.
--------
                                 a Wisconsin corporation

                                 By:     /s/ Mary M. Kabacinski
                                    -----------------------------------------
                                 Name:  Mary M. Kabacinski
                                 Title: Chief Financial Officer

GUARANTORS:                      CHILDCRAFT EDUCATION CORP.,
----------
                                 a New York corporation
                                 CLASSROOMDIRECT.COM, LLC,
                                 a Delaware limited liability company
                                 BIRD-IN-HAND WOODWORKS, INC.,
                                 a New Jersey corporation
                                 SPORTIME, LLC,
                                 a Delaware limited liability company
                                 GLOBAL VIDEO, LLC,
                                 a Wisconsin limited liability company

                                 By:     /s/ Mary M. Kabacinski
                                    -----------------------------------------
                                 Name:  Mary M. Kabacinski
                                 Title: Treasurer

                           [Signature Pages Continue]

<PAGE>

LENDERS:                            BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
-------
                                    individually as a Lender and in its capacity
                                    as Administrative Agent

                                    By:   /s/ Casey Cosgrove
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  Casey Cosgrove
                                    Title: Vice President

                                    BANK ONE, NA (main office, Chicago)

                                    By:   /s/ A. F. Maggiore
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  Anthony F. Maggiore
                                    Title: Director, Capital Markets

                                    U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

                                    By:   /s/ Timothy J. Gallaher
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  Timothy J. Gallaher
                                    Title: Corporate Banking Officer

                                    THE BANK OF NEW YORK

                                    By:   /s/ Mark Wrigley
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  Mark Wrigley
                                    Title: Assistant Vice President

                                    HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK

                                    By:   /s/ George M. Dluhy
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  George M. Dluhy
                                    Title: Vice President

                                    CITIZENS BANK OF MASSACHUSETTS

                                    By:   /s/ John E. Lucas
                                       ------------------------------------
                                    Name:  John E. Lucas
                                    Title: Vice President

                           [Signature Pages Continue]

<PAGE>

                               LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

                               By:    /s/ Lou D. Banach
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  Lou D. Banach
                               Title: First Vice President and Senior Lender

                               ST. FRANCIS BANK, F.S.B.

                               By:    /s/ John C. Tans
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  John C. Tans
                               Title: Vice President

                               UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N.A.

                               By:    /s/ J. Scott Jessup
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  J. Scott Jessup
                               Title: Vice President

                               WACHOVIA BANK, N.A.

                               By:    /s/ Bradford L. Watkins
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  Bradford L. Watkins
                               Title: Vice President

                               MARSHALL & ILSLEY BANK

                               By:    /s/ Leo D. Freeman
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  Leo D. Freeman
                               Title: Vice President

                               NATIONAL CITY BANK

                               By:    /s/ Tiffany Cozzolino
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  Tiffany Cozzolino
                               Title: Assistant Vice President

                               GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL CORPORATION

                               By:    /s/ W. Jerome McDermott
                                  ----------------------------------
                               Name:  W. Jerome McDermott
                               Title: Duly Authorize Signatoryex10-18

 

AMENDMENT 1

EXHIBIT 10.26

AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO CIENA CORPORATION

TRANSFER OF CONTROL/SEVERANCE AGREEMENT

     This Amendment No. 1 (the “Amendment”) is made this _____ day of
______________, by and between CIENA Corporation, a Delaware corporation
(together with its subsidiaries, the “Corporation”) and ______________ (the
“Executive”) as an amendment to the Transfer of Control/Severance Agreement,
dated as of __________________, by and between the Corporation and Executive
(hereinafter, the “Agreement”). Except as otherwise indicated, defined terms
in this Amendment have the same meaning as set forth in the Agreement.

Recitals

	1.	 	Deletion and Replacement of Section 4.4. Section 4.4 of the Agreement shall
be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:

			
	4.4		Stock Options. All options granted to an Executive to
purchase capital stock of the Corporation under any plan, program or
arrangement maintained by the Corporation, shall become vested and
exercisable upon a Transfer of Control to the extent provided for
under the terms of such plan, program or arrangement. In addition
to any accelerated vesting of the Executive’s options under such
plan, program or arrangement, in the event that:

			
		(i)	the Executive’s employment with
the Corporation is terminated without Cause by the
Corporation, or for Good Reason by the Executive,
within one year after the Effective Date,
	 
	 	(ii)	the Executive executes a general
release and waiver in accordance with Section 7.1, and
	 
	 	(iii)	the Executive satisfies the
condition precedent set forth in Section 4.5,

			
	 	 	then vesting of any of the Executive’s unvested options shall
continue during the period of the continuation of the Executive’s
salary as provided in Section 4.1; and the period during which
unexercised and exercisable options may be exercised shall be
extended for thirty days after the end of the salary continuation
period; provided that,

			
	 	(i)	if the exercise of any option
within this time period is prevented by the
requirements of federal or state securities laws as
provided under the terms of the applicable plan,
program or arrangement, then the option shall remain
exercisable until three months after the date the

 

 

			
	 	 	Executive is notified by the Company that the option is
exercisable, but in no event later than ten years
after the date of grant of the option; and

			
	 	(ii)	if the exercise of any option
within this time period would subject the Executive to
suit under Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the period for exercise shall be extended
until the earliest to occur of (a) the tenth day
following the date on which the Executive would no
longer be subject to such suit, (b) the 190th day
after the end of the salary continuation period, or
(c) ten years after the date of grant of the option.

			
	 	 	In all other instances, vesting of any such options shall cease on
the last day of the Executive’s active employment with the
Corporation, irrespective of the existence of salary continuation
payments beyond such last day.

	2.	 	Addition of Section 4.5. A new Section 4.5 shall be added as follows:

		
	 	4.5. Condition Precedent. The Parties agree that payment of the
severance benefits set forth in this Section 4 shall be conditioned upon
and subject to the Executive’s agreement that, for a period of twelve
months following the Executive’s last day of employment with the
Corporation, the Executive will not, whether alone or as a partner,
officer, director, consultant, agent, employee or stockholder of any
company or other commercial enterprise, directly or indirectly, without
the prior written consent of the Corporation, engage or invest in, own,
manage, operate, finance, control or participate in the ownership,
management, operation, financing or control of, be employed by or
associated with any business or other commercial activity whose products
or activities compete, in whole or in part, with the products or
activities of the Corporation; provided, that the Executive may purchase
or otherwise acquire as a passive investment up to (but not more than)
one percent of any class of security of any enterprise (but without
otherwise participating in the activities of such enterprise) if such
securities are listed on any national or regional securities exchange or
have been registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934.

	3.	 	Addition of Section 4.6. A new Section 4.6 shall be added as follows:

		
	 	4.6. Remedies. In the event of a breach of Section 4.5 by the Executive,
then the Executive shall immediately reimburse the Corporation the entire
gross amount of the severance benefits paid to the Executive pursuant to
Section 4 up to the date of such breach. The forfeiture provisions of
this Section 4.6 shall be in addition to, and not in limitation of, any
other remedies available to the Corporation at law or in equity.

 

 

	4.	 	Ratification. Other than as set forth in this Amendment, all other terms
and conditions of the Agreement remain unchanged. In the event of a conflict
between the terms of this Amendment and the Agreement, the terms of this
Amendment shall control.
	 
	5.	 	Controlling Law. This Amendment shall in all respects be governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware (without regard
to the principles of conflicts of laws).

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed and delivered this Amendment
on the date first above written.

	 	 	 
		 	
CIENA CORPORATION
	 
	 	 	
By:                                                                           

Name:
	 	 	
Title:
	 
	 	 	
EXECUTIVE
	 
	 		                                                                           

	 		
Name:

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