GC school board accepts $126,000 from fraud insurance claim
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GLENWOOD CITY — At their meeting held on Monday evening, the Glenwood City school board voted to accept $126,000 from an insurance claim filed in regards to the former district administrator Tim Johnson fraud case. They also discussed possibly using that money to correct a number of compensation discrepancies that were instituted by Johnson.
According to district administrator Patrick Olson, the district had a $200,000 fraud policy with EMC Insurance. Based on the Intellex forensic audit, there was enough evidence to show that fraud was committed. EMC Insurance came to the conclusion that the district is entitled to $126,000 in insurance money. The board voted unanimously to accept the insurance money with board members Jodi Main and Sally Standaert absent.
Before approving the acceptance of the insurance money, board member Tony Mielzarek asked if the case against Johnson will be affected by the fact that the district accepted two checks from the Johnsons already.
Olson said that he has been advised by law enforcement and attorneys that the acceptance of those checks, which totaled about $75,000, would not have any bearing on the criminal components of the case.
Olson went on to tell the board that he needs direction on how to rectify a number of wrongs that were made by Johnson over the years in regards to staff compensation.
“It’s uncharted territory,” said Olson. “How far back would the board like to rectify wrongs?” he asked.
Olson then referred to a four page list of compensation discrepancies that affected a number of staff over the years. He noted that this list was not made public because it contains individuals’ names.
Olson went over some of the items on the list which included: at least one instance where a breach of contract occurred; several instances where staff members got advanced benefits that were not comparable to their peers; two cases where staff went backwards in pay; two cases where teachers were placed outside of the district’s teacher model; one case where a teacher exceeded the pay schedule.
Olson said that he and district accountant Deb Newman have had meetings about these findings and are looking for the board’s advice on how to approach the issue. He said that the structure for compensation in the district is disorganized, does not follow any policy and often does not have any “rhyme or reason”.
Due to the fact that staff with the same background and experience were differently paid with no explanation, Olson believes that Johnson determined compensation based on his personal thoughts about staff.
“I think it’s evident in my opinion, there was a level of favoritism, there was a level of grudges,” said Olson.
After a lengthy discussion, the board asked Newman to come up with a number that would compensate any staff affected by the discrepancies. At a future meeting the board will review those numbers and possibly use the insurance money awarded to the district to correct the discrepancies.
Open Forum
During the open forum portion of the meeting the board heard from three members of the Boyceville Airport Booster Club. Court Sand, Joel Timblin and Becky Timblin told the board that the club has agreed to donate $5000 worth of computers and flight simulator software and accessories to the GCHS Aerospace Program.
“This is an opportunity to interest more kids in aviation,” said Sand.
The equipment will allow aerospace students in the district to practice the techniques of flying an airplane. Joel said that a number of Glenwood City students have taken classes at the Boyceville airport. Becky said that many Glenwood City businesses have supported the club’s annual pancake breakfast fundraiser over the years.
The board thanked the Timblins and Sand for the donation.
“Thank you for this partnership. These are opportunities that our kids normally wouldn’t get,” said Olson.
The board also heard from math and language arts teacher Matthew Schutz about how the 2020 spring coaching staff was not paid due to the pandemic.
“We as coaches work hard. We are constantly coaching all the time,” said Schutz.
He said that coaching is a year round endeavor. He pointed out that he recruits athletes all year round and works with softball players and cross country runners during the off season. According to Schutz, other spring co-curricular advisors, for example the spring musical and prom advisors, were paid.
“A possible wrong decision, no matter when it occurred, can be rectified…you hold the power to do that,” said Schutz.
Later in the meeting the board agreed to look at the matter along with the recently discovered staff pay discrepancies.
Work Session
The board heard from Olson about the recently released Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) school report cards. DPI has issued the report cards to school districts annually since the 2011/2012 school year. The report cards rank schools in various areas including: achievement, growth, target group outcomes and on track to graduation.
The report cards are quite
lengthy and rank schools on many aspects of learning. Glenwood City elementary school and the high school both received an overall score of three stars which is a score that meets expectations and the middle school received four stars which is an exceeds expectations score.
“It’s a piece of data that we will use to help us improve,” said Olson.
Elementary school principal Jamie Shaffer and middle/high school principal Marcy Burch spoke about the report cards. Both noted that the methods used to rank schools keep changing, so it’s difficult to say if the schools are improving. Anyone can view the report cards either at the DPI website or at the school’s website.
Also during the work session the board learned that Newman discovered that a check from the school district was stolen from the mail. The $58,000 check was cashed in Texas. The district was able to work with the bank and get reimbursement for the check. Going forward they are working with the bank to keep closer track of checks.
The board discussed the district’s Sunday/Wednesday policy. Olson said currently the district does not hold activities past 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and with superintendent approval, activities can be held between 5 and 8pm on Sundays.
Olson said both school groups and nonschool groups use the buildings and he is looking for parameters on possibly updating the hours in the policy. After some discussion about staffing the board agreed that groups could request the use of the school buildings from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays and Olson would approve the use of the buildings on a case by case basis.
The board also discussed the Topper Partnership Plan which is a fund consisting of donations from community members. Teachers can request money from the fund for special projects or supplies. Olson said that many staff did not know about the program and he wondered what the board wanted to do with the program.
He said the fund has about $160,000 in it but the application process to request funding is a bit complicated. The board agreed to make it easier for teachers to apply for the funds and to educate staff about the program.
In other business the Glenwood City school board:
• Heard from Olson about ongoing meetings he and Newman have with DPI in regards to financial monitoring and the Johnson case.
• Discussed repurposing the tennis court into a batting cage for the softball team.
• Heard from Burch about distance learning and the cost of high school students taking post secondary classes.
• Learned from Director of Student Services, Erin Spaeth that 19% of Glenwood City students are in special ed and there are nine more that are being referred.
• Heard from Shaffer that a new 1-3 grading scale has been instituted in the elementary school.
• Voted to hire Angela Humphrey as the school nurse.
• Voted to hire Sarah Kaiser and Amanda Larson as health professionals at home games.
