Bibb County school chief departing

Published 10:39 am Tuesday, February 9, 2010

MACON, Ga. (AP) — Bibb County’s school superintendent, whose office is being investigated, is leaving her job.

The county school board agreed Monday night by a 6-2 vote to settle the contract of superintendent Sharon Patterson for $198,000. Patterson, who has been superintendent for 10 years, will leave at the end of the month.

School board president Gary Bechtel said the agreement also calls for the system to cover Patterson’s legal fees related to the state’s Professional Standards Commission’s investigation of charges that Patterson’s administration failed to report incidents of alleged principal misconduct.

Two county school board members filed complaints alleging that Patterson’s office failed to report a principal who was having an affair with a subordinate and another who was accused of choking a student.