LAKEVILLE — Former Freetown-Lakeville Superintendent of Schools Alan Strauss will be paid just under $144,913 as part of his settlement agreement with the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District, according to the terms of the document.

Strauss will receive $82,412.42 as a “lump sum buyout of the employment contract’’ and $62,500 for a “non wage payment,’’ the terms state. 

Strauss announced his resignation at the Jan. 8 Freetown Lakeville Regional School Committee meeting, citing in part "defamatory statements’’ made about his health by School Committee members Crystal Ng and Carolina Hernandez.

He said their statements, and those of “others in town government,’’ whom he did not name, led to a “toxic environment that has compromised my ability to prioritize my health.’’

As a condition of the total payment of $144,912.42 Strauss agreed he will not seek legal action against the Freetown Lakeville School Committee or the Freetown Lakeville School District. 

The agreement does not prevent him from making claims against individual committee members “acting in their personal (not official) capacities.’’

Committee members have been meeting in executive sessions since early November after “receiving information from Mr. Strauss about his objections to his working conditions and more specifically the conduct of certain members of the committee,’’ a statement from the Freetown Lakeville Regional School Committee reads.

The subsequent agreement “provides for parting ways on terms that are fair and acceptable to both Mr. Strauss and the committee,’’ the statement reads. “In entering into this agreement, the committee has carefully considered the financial impact on the district.’’

The committee stated that “we are aware this agreement will likely be scrutinized by the community’’ but stated that “this is a mutual decision made in the best interest of the parties.’’

A letter of reference was provided by the committee for Strauss, which states in part that Strauss has “consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership, vision, and commitment to the growth and success of the district while leaving an indelible mark on the school community.’’

In the interest of "turning the page" for the district and Strauss, the statement states, the district will make no further comment about the agreement or “discussions that led to it.’’

A search is underway for a new superintendent. In the interim, Director of Curriculum and Assessment Teri Fleming, Director of Finance and Operations John Higgins and Director of Student Services Kelly Steele are filling the role. 

A Screening Committee will begin to review applications Feb. 3. Interviews will take place in the weeks following, according to a job posting on Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents web site.