Sarasota County Schools has announced that superintendent Dr. Todd Bowden has agreed to a mutual separation agreement and, pending School Board approval, will leave his position on Dec. 31, 2019. Per the agreement, Bowden will receive his full salary and benefits through the end of the year and receive 20 weeks of severance pay, including benefits, his full salary and unused paid leave, as well as $65,523 in legal fees. Bowden was hired in August of 2007 as director of Suncoast Technical College and appointed superintendent in March 2017. He is currently under investigation for his handling of former Sarasota County Schools employee Cheraina Bonner's sexual harassment claim against her boss, Jeff Maultsby, who resigned as the school system's chief operations officer at the end of October. In a show of bipartisanship, the Republican Party of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Democratic Party are both calling for the school board to accept Bowden's exit package; board members will vote on whether or not to approve it on Nov. 19.