District taxpayers who are paying tens of millions of dollars for new schools and air conditioning, are now faced with the fact that nearly a million dollars in unapproved stipends, perhaps much more, might have helped defray some of that cost.
You could almost build a new school with the dollar figures we’re hearing from sources on and off the record.
It would certainly pay for a few air conditioners, or perhaps the salaries of all those teachers they’re cutting from the budget.
The price tag went up Tuesday night, when district officials informed members of the St Joseph Board of Education of a whole new list of stipends, never approved by the board, worth more than $400,000.
“We discovered that there are more stipends out there given to staff for many years that have never been on the salary schedule or approved by the board of education,” said board member Chris Danford, a vocal critic throughout the stipends mess.
This was the scorecard of publicly acknowledged stipends last week:
The Superintendent’s Council. Nine members collect $17,000 apiece each year.
Associate Superintendents. Each collects $15,000 per year.
“Additional Duties and Responsibilities.” 54 district administrators received $5,000 each.
Danford says the district Human Resources Director and Compliance Officer Doug Flowers informed the board of several more administrative perks. The Superintendent’s Cabinet, not to be confused with the Superintendent’s Council, is comprised of four members, each of whom has received $9,000 each year for at least ten years. That’s $360,000 over that ten year period, but likely much more.
Over a million dollars and counting. That’s a lot of Shekles, all the more shocking for the “aw shucks” attitude. The revelations are coming in dribs and drabs, and Dr. Fred Czerwonka continues to assert that this is within the scope of his job as superintendent. He reminds us that the district’s new lawyer has essentially cleared the district of any wrongdoing. Not so the FBI or the State Auditor’s Office, at least not yet.
“From the recent 84 page report prepared by St Joseph School District Attorney Mr. Tom Mickes, it is clear that based on state statutes, Missouri Attorney General opinions, Missouri State Constitution and past audits, I acted within my scope as superintendent,” Czerwonka read from a prepared statement.
But wait, there’s more.
Also among the revelations Tuesday night was a recruitment bonus the district continued to pay for years after the administrator was recruited. Not a signing bonus, that you receive once for signing your contract, this was a continuing payment of anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a year for many years, according to Danford.
“Now Mr Flowers says he hasn’t ever, himself, given one of those, but there are people on staff that are still getting those,” Ms Danford said in an interview. “Which means he, and Payroll, knew about them, because they’ve been on the contracts every year,” she said. “It’s just the board hasn’t known about it until last night.”
We asked if the board ought to exercise more stringent oversight of taxpayer money. Danford said “absolutely,” but pointed out one problem.
“We are now in the process putting together a budget for 2014-2015. But if we don’t know the numbers that are in there now, how are we going to know the numbers that are going into this new budget?”