Long before he turned up the recent pay raises and stipends that sparked the controversy in the St Joseph School District, former CFO Beau Musser says he came across a lot of illegal behavior.
In fact, he received an internal audit report on his second day of work. That audit report contained a lot of alarming problems for Musser.
According to his lawsuit, Musser turned up evidence that the fiscal wrongdoing was as widespread as it was brazen. The lawsuit names the school district, Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka, Human Resources Director Doug Flowers, and board member Dennis Snethen as defendants. He’s asking for actual, future, and punitive damages from each of them.
Here are some of the highlights, revealed publicly for the first time, culled from court documents:
a) The District’s maintenance office could not account for over 4,000 gallons of fuel.
b) Superintendent Dr. Fred Czerwonka contracted with the consulting firm “The Flippen Group” for $135,000 without the approval of the school board, when in fact the maximum expenditure allowed without board approval is $15,000.
c) Multiple vehicles and a spa were purchased at Central High School without prior approval.
d) The Maintenance Department purchased a vehicle without first obtaining approval by the board.
e) Dr. Czerwonka hired another consulting group, “APQC,” for $36,000, and paid them $18,000 prior to receiving board approval.
f) Short Term Disability Rates were not sufficient to cover the district’s expenses, and no actions were taken to increase those rates.
In July of 2013, Mr Musser says he became aware of the salary increases (stipends and pay raises) issued to certain administrative employees totaling approximately $375,000 annually, which had not been approved by the school board.
Mr Musser says in court documents it was his pursuit of board approval for this last group of perks that sparked the stipend controversy. He also says his persistence also turned administrative officials against him, and all manner of punitive actions were taken against him. The lawsuit lists three counts, Retailiation for Whistleblowing and Wrongful Termination, Slander/Defamation, and Breach of Contract.
Find all the details in the lawsuit, attached here.
