Opinion ID: 2982405
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Calloway and Plaintiff Begin at DPS

Text: It was in this climate that the Board hired Dr. Connie Calloway to be the Superintendent of DPS, beginning on July 1, 2007. Before she took over at DPS, Calloway was the Superintendent of a school district that covered areas outside of St. Louis, Missouri. Calloway recommended that Plaintiff, her Chief Financial Officer, accompany her to act as the CFO of DPS. DPS would be a change from Calloway’s and Plaintiff’s former jobs. Their former school district was much smaller than DPS—eight schools versus DPS’ 200, with a much smaller budget. But competition for the job as DPS’ CFO was not fierce. As Calloway testified, she “[c]ouldn’t give the job away.” (R. 60-3, Calloway Dep., at 1582.) Plaintiff began her job at DPS on August 1, 2007. Her contract (which ran from July 1, 2007) only provided for six months of employment, with the ability for renewals with the consent of Plaintiff, the Superintendent, and the Board. In the end, Plaintiff’s contract was renewed twice—in December 2007 and June 2008—for a total of three six-month terms ending on December 31, 2008. The Superintendent or the Board could terminate Plaintiff’s contract without cause at any time. If Plaintiff was terminated without cause (as she eventually was), she would still receive all of the compensation due to her under the terminated contract. Plaintiff -2- No. 13-1515 could also be terminated with cause at the sole discretion of the Board, a route that would abolish all of Plaintiff’s rights under the contract.