ASHLAND — In a 4-1 vote with board member Jim Wolfe dissenting, the Ashland Board of Education approved a settlement agreement in which Reagan Elementary School third grade teacher Caren Carlisle agreed to pay the district $3,993 to make up for a portion of a salary overpayment.
Additionally, Carlisle will receive a salary reduction of $51.18 per pay period for three years starting next school year, according to the settlement agreement.Â
Over a period of several years dating back to 2006-2007, the district overpaid Carlisle a total of $17,679.
The issue was discovered in September 2017 when the district determined the teacher had been placed on the wrong step on the salary scale starting in 2006, according to a timeline provided by the board.
Board member Mike Heimann said none of the employees in the business office at the time of the error are currently employed by the district.
Board member Jim Wolfe said respects his colleagues’ “business decision” to reach a settlement but added he believes the teacher should have repaid the full amount.
“That money did not belong to this employee,” Wolfe said. “That money belonged to students and to this district. It was taxpayer money. Through some slight of legal hand, the employee has chosen to use OEA (Ohio Education Association) attorneys to not have to pay the money back, and basically use maneuvering where the cost of us fighting this would be more than we could legally collect.”
Wolfe said the district cannot legally collect the full amount because of a board policy that states the district may only recover six years of overpayment. Over the past six years, Carlisle was overpaid $11,582, according to a salary correction document provided by the board.
“I wouldn’t expect us as a district to let any student leave this district thinking that if you’re overpaid by $17,000, that you get to keep the money,” Wolfe said. “I really don’t know how you can sleep at night keeping that kind of money.”
Wolfe added he thinks “it sets a very, very poor example for young people in a world that’s already struggling with morality.”
Board president Will Gravitt responded by saying he feels the burden for the mistake should be placed not solely on the employee but also on the district.
“It was a mistake made in the district office, and we take some responsibility for that,” Gravitt said. “As we worked to negotiate an agreement, those factors were taken into consideration.”
Board members approved new contracts for three existing administrators, Reagan principal Nicole Brodie ($70,250 annually for three years), high school assistant principal and athletic director Jason Goings ($78,300 annually for three years) and high school principal Mike Riley ($105,000 annually for three years. Each of the administrators also has potential for incentive pay.
The board also approved a five-year financial forecast showing the district’s anticipated revenues, expenditures and carryover through 2021-2022. Treasurer Sue Guthrie’s forecast shows the district expects to bring in $33,954,507, which is about $444,472 more than it spends this fiscal year. The district expects to end the year with about $10 million.
Significant capital expenditures are included in the forecast, including about $1.8 million for each of 2018 and 2020 as well as $3 million for 2019. These figures include anticipated expenses for technology, security, HVAC and furniture upgrades.
By the end of 2021-2022, the district’s unreserved fund balance is expected to have grown to about $15.7 million.
School districts are required to submit financial forecasts to the state twice each year for planning purposes, but numbers from the final years of the forecast are subject to change.
