Lancaster ISD board buys out superintendent but won’t say how much it will cost taxpayers

The Lancaster schools superintendent was bought out of a five-year contract at a Monday board meeting, though no one is saying why or for how much. Some trustees tried to stop the meeting from taking place with a court order, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.

Superintendent Elijah Granger started a new five-year $1.6 million contract to lead the Lancaster ISD on Oct. 29. Less than two weeks later, the same board that extended his contract voted 4-3 to buy him out of it at an unknown cost to the district and its taxpayers.

School officials would not disclose the details of the buyout or provide the separation agreement following Monday’s board meeting.

The three trustees who voted against the separation –– Carolyn Ann Morris, Ty G. Jones and Marion Hamilton –– tried to obtain a temporary restraining order to prevent Monday’s meeting from taking place.

Hamilton asked Granger to see the proposed separation agreement in advance of Monday’s meeting, but the superintendent denied her request, according to court documents. Because Hamilton and the two other trustees could not see the document in advance, they argued they could not properly represent their constituents.

A temporary restraining order was not granted, and the meeting took place as planned.

Morris, Jones and Hamilton voted against the separation and expressed concern at Monday’s meeting over the financial impact to the district. Morris described it as a “sad day financially.” Jones said he felt the separation was premature and that it put the school district in an “adverse financial situation.”

Texas docks state funds from districts that buy out superintendents with severance packages greater than one year’s salary and benefits. Granger’s new contract ran through Oct. 28, 2025, paying Granger an annual salary of $315,000. The document stipulated that if trustees terminated the agreement before its end, the board would have to pay all the remaining salary and cost of benefits.

If the trustees agreed to pay out Granger’s entire contract, that could mean the district will have to pay the outgoing superintendent more than $1.5 million and then be docked more than $1 million by the state during an economic downturn that is already straining school budgets across Texas. The district planned to receive $43.6 million from the state in 2020-21.

Board president Ellen Clark, who lost a bid for reelection last week and voted in favor of the separation agreement, declined to disclose the financial impact to the district when asked after the meeting.

“It is a financial impact to the district, but this was difficult,” Clark said, noting that Granger had been an excellent superintendent and that he would be missed. She added that the separation was in the best interest for the district and Granger, but did not otherwise provide a reason for the termination of the contract.

Clark pointed to the makeup of the board when asked what had changed since his contract extension on Oct. 29.

The only board seat that turned over in that period of time was Clark’s. She lost a November race against Kendall Smith and will be out of office by the end of the month. Clark has served on the school district board since 2009.

Immediately following the buyout vote, Granger thanked the board for acting in the best interest of students and the district.

“Lancaster ISD is bigger than any one person, and I want Lancaster ISD to move forward, be successful, and I want the leadership that is chosen to continue to take it to the next level,” Granger said.

Shemeka Millner-Williams, LISD’s deputy superintendent of curriculum instruction, was appointed interim superintendent in a unanimous board decision.

Trustees hired Granger as superintendent in January 2018. During his tenure, the district passed a tax ratification election, implemented a one-to-one technology model and was honored as the best small school district by the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. In 2019-20, trustees gave Granger an exceptional rating on his superintendent evaluation.

Granger did not respond to a request for comment.