Court clarifies interest LPSS owes former Superintendent Pat Cooper on back pay [The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.]

Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA)

Feb. 8—Confusion over the amount of interest the Lafayette Parish School Board owes former superintendent Pat Cooper on the $300,000 in compensation he lost when he was fired in 2014 appears to be settled.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeal in January ordered the district court to clarify the time frame in which interest is accrued on more than $300,000 the school system owes Cooper for the time remaining on his contract from December 2014 to Dec. 31, 2015.

Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Marilyn Castle on Jan. 22 amended the 2021 judgment to clarify the interest accrual rate.

Cooper was hired in January 2012 by a split vote of the Lafayette Parish School Board. The board fired him in November 2014, alleging he violated state law and board policy. But the Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled there was no basis for terminating his contract early, and the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear the board's appeal.

A Feb. 20 judgment ordered the school board to pay him $309,264 in lost salary, benefits and interest.

That includes $212,582 in salary, $61,823 in retirement benefits and $14,343 in health insurance from December 2014 through December 2015. Interest begins accruing on the last day of each month, beginning Dec. 31, 2014, Castle ruled.

The school system also owes Cooper $2,080 for cell phone usage and $9,100 in a car allowance, with interest accruing monthly beginning Dec. 31, 2014.

Finally, Cooper is owed $9,344 in lost annual leave, with interest accruing as of Dec. 31, 2015, Castle ruled.

In 2017, Cooper sought more than $4 million in damages from the school system. It included damages to his reputation and physical and mental harm caused by stress.

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