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The Troy Board of Education has approved a contract for interim superintendent Cynthia Thomas, who took over for former superintendent Dr. Lee Hicks on Feb. 18.

The contract is based on an annual salary of $132,653 or $11,054.42 a month, which is identical to the salary of Hicks.

The contract is valid through August 16, as the board is obligated under state law to have a new superintendent within six months.

Board member Eva Green raised concern during the meeting that she had not seen the contract prior to the meeting.

“I appreciate her stepping in to lead and I wanted to check to make sure she is compensated for her work,” Green told the board.

Vice Chair Jonathan Cellon said the contract was finalized earlier in the day and apologized for not having the contract before board members sooner.

The board also approved information on the new coronavirus to be added to the school system website.

The board voted unanimously, absent Chair Rhonda Pollard, in favor of retaining Rainer Cotter as legal counsel to the board at a rate of $150 per hour.

“For some time the board has been without retained legal counsel,” Cellon said.

Directly after hiring Cotter, the board voted to go into executive session to discuss “litigation imminently likely to be pursued if we pursue certain actions.”

The cause is one of nine covered by the Alabama Open Meetings Act for governing bodies to meet behind closed doors.

Green questioned the need for the executive session and ultimately voted against it, but was outnumbered and the board exited to meet in private.

The board will meet again on Monday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Office.