TIFT COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — The Tift County School District has released the employment contract for Superintendent Natalie Gore in response to an open records request filed by WALB News 10.

Full employment contract below:

The request, submitted by News 10 MMJ reporter Taylor Lewis to Dana Spurlin, the district’s chief of communications and community engagement, sought the superintendent’s current, fully executed employment contract and any board-approved changes to her compensation, including salary, benefits, allowances, supplemental pay, severance or buyout provisions.

According to the request, the records were sought “to determine what financial obligations, if any, Tift County taxpayers could be responsible for under the superintendent’s contract, if she is departing from the school system.”

The law firm Smith Welch Webb & White, which represents the school district, responded September 8 in a letter from attorney Megan Murren, stating that responsive documents were attached.

Contract terms

The contract, signed June 12, 2025, by Board Chairman Jonathan Jones and Gore, sets her employment as superintendent to begin July 1, 2025, and end June 30, 2028, unless renewed. The board may extend the contract in additional years, but the total term cannot exceed three years.

Under the compensation section, the board agreed to pay Gore an annual base salary of $225,000 in twelve monthly installments. The contract states the board may increase her salary but “under no circumstances may the Board decrease the Superintendent’s salary below the base salary figure stated above.”

Other compensation items listed in the contract include:

• A personal vehicle stipend of $850 per month.
• $141 per month toward a term life insurance policy.
• $750 per month toward health, vision and dental insurance costs.
• A board contribution equal to 6% of her compensation to a retirement plan.
• Payment of her contribution to the Teacher Retirement System.
• A discretionary performance incentive bonus of up to 10% of her base salary, at the board’s discretion.
• Payment of dues for memberships in professional and civic organizations, including the Georgia School Superintendent’s Association and the Tifton Tift County Chamber of Commerce.
• Access to a cellphone and other district-owned technology.

The contract also entitles Gore to 20 vacation days per year, up to a maximum accumulation of 40 days, with no cash-out option for unused days. Her pay is calculated on a 240 working-day basis. She is entitled to 15 sick days per year, accumulating up to 45 days.

Termination provisions

The contract outlines several ways the agreement can end, including mutual agreement, retirement, disability, death, discharge for cause, or resignation.

For “termination for convenience,” the contract states the board can end the agreement with seven days’ notice, with compensation owed calculated on a per-year basis: 100% of compensation for the first 12 months from the contract’s origination date, 75% for months 13 through 24, and 50% for months 25 through 36.

If the board ends Gore’s contract for convenience rather than for cause, the district would owe her a percentage of her remaining compensation under that schedule, depending on when the termination occurs in the three-year term.

The contract requires Gore to give the board at least 60 days’ notice before resigning.

Performance bonus records

Included in the released records are two emails regarding a performance incentive bonus for Gore.

In a June 12, 2025 email, Board Chairman Jonathan Jones notified district staff that the board, in executive session, approved a $10,000 performance bonus for Gore for that year.

In a June 2026 email exchange, Jones wrote that two incentive bonus items had been earned: a 1.5% bonus tied to passage of an ESPLOST referendum and a 0.5% bonus tied to counseling and guidance sessions, for a total of 2%. Deputy Superintendent of Business Operations Klinton Guess calculated 2% of Gore’s $225,000 base salary as $4,500 and said the payment would be processed for June payroll.

Memorandum of understanding

The records also include a Memorandum of Understanding dated effective December 14, 2023, outlining the board’s intent to offer Gore the superintendent position. The document named Gore as the sole finalist for the job and said the board intended to approve her contract at a special called board meeting on December 29, 2023.

Under the MOU, Gore agreed to tender her resignation to her then-current employer and to execute her employment contract within five business days of board authorization. The board agreed to pay her $975 per day, prorated for partial days, for approved on-site transition work performed before her official start date of January 22, 2024.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more south Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.