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N.D. (AP) – The buyout of North Dakota University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani’s contract will cost state taxpayers nearly million.

System vice chancellor Laura Glatt says the $925,400 buyout includes the two final years of Shirvani’s three-year contract, health insurance and retirement benefits, and compensation for annual leave time.

The Board of Higher Education voted Monday to buy out Shirvani’s contract. University system spokeswoman Linda Donlin says the money will come from the agency’s budget. The agency also paid an outside attorney to handle the negotiations.

Shirvani was criticized by some for what they said was an overbearing management style. He said he was given a mandate to overhaul the state’s higher education system. He said that the ordeal he’s been through “has just been hell.” He’s stepping down July 15.