An addendum to the employment contract of Superintendent Michael Thomas drew considerable debate among members of the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board during its May 4 meeting.

Thomas has been hired as the new superintendent of the Hopkins School District and will start in that role on July 1, 2026. His hire was made official in late April. The contract signed with PLSAS, however, specifies a 90-day notice of termination is required unless changes are mutually agreed upon by both the district and Thomas.

Board member Jessica Mason requested that the addendum to Thomas’ contract be pulled from the meeting’s consent agenda for further discussion. She said she had not seen a letter of resignation from Thomas, and the shortened notice period would not give the district sufficient time to find his replacement.

Requiring Thomas to sign a cooperation agreement with the district was also requested by board member Lisa Atkinson, who indicated it would provide better protection for the district from pending or future litigation that may involve the district.

Thomas said he had previously submitted a letter with the district’s human resources department stating his intent to resign and waived payout of all accrued vacation and sick time. While acceptance of the position with Hopkins did not allow him to meet the 90-day notice clause, Thomas said he was requesting the board to mutually agree to his departure on June 30 by approving the contract addendum.

Atkinson’s motion to require a cooperation agreement be signed by Thomas failed on a 4-3 vote. Board members Charles Johnson and Mason joined Atkinson in voting in favor of requiring the agreement, with board members Jessica Olstad, Mary Frantz, Dustin Smith and board chair Amy Bullyan voting “no.”

The proposed addendum that would release Thomas from his employment contract on June 30 was met with another 4-3 vote. Bullyan, Olstad, Frantz and Smith voted to approve the addendum request. Voting against the motion were Atkinson, Johnson and Mason.