School board members apparently discussed in emails and texts as early as Feb. 6 how to move forward without Liberty County School System Superintendent Dr. Valya Lee.Lee, who won’t be back next year, will receive a $190,000 payout after the school board announced Feb. 28 that her contract is being terminated at the end of this school year. Both Lee and Board of Education Chairwoman Lily Baker have called the decision a mutual agreement between Lee and the BoE, and Baker has said the decision to pay Lee the $190,000 - a year’s salary - was done on the advice of attorney Carl Varnedoe. Whether the system needed to pay Lee anything was the topic of a Feb. 6 email to school board members from BoE member Marcus Scott IV. He said the school board had time to notify Lee she was no longer wanted as superintendent without having to pay her a year’s salary.