According to DailyHerald.com, his leave of absence started at the beginning of March and he will be on leave all the way up until the end-date for his contract. He put in the request for a paid leave of absence in February in order to figure out his next move and to give his successor more time to begin transitioning into the role.
The school board approved his request unanimously, although two speakers voiced objections. The board president, Wendy Schilling, stated that the board was obligated to honor the request although she did not give any more details on the matter, saying:
“Dr. Barbini is under contract. Those are the terms of his contract. We do not want to the be district where we do not follow the law and that we do not follow the contract.”
Barbini had originally put in a request to have his contract extended at the end of his three-year term but decided to withdraw the request. He decided that it would be in his best interest to pursue career opportunities away from District 70.
According to Schilling, negotiations with prospective replacements are currently ongoing, so business card printing orders for the new incumbent may not be too far away.