As released by the Office of the Auditor General:

HARRISBURG – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said today that taxpayers in the Upper Darby School District in Delaware County could needlessly pay more than $1 million for the former school superintendent’s generous retirement package.

The Upper Darby school board agreed to pay the former superintendent $356,256 in a lump sum retirement incentive, unused sick and vacation days and medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage when he retired in 2009 – two years into a three-year contract.

Additionally, auditors found the district is responsible for an annual $24,300 life insurance premium payment for the rest of his life, or the year 2047, potentially costing taxpayers $923,400.

“The board’s generosity was not in the best interests of the taxpayers,” DePasquale said. “The money should have been spent on education and students.

“The retirement package was excessive, especially considering the payout is over and above what the district paid to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System which guaranteed the former superintendent a state pension,” he said. “This was an excessive deal.”

According to the retirement package, the former superintendent received:

· $148,106, or 75 percent, of his $197,474 salary.

· $127,866 for 169 unused sick leave days and $15,132 for 20 unused vacation days accrued at $756.61 per day.

· $65,152 in actual and estimated major medical, hospitalization, prescription drug, vision and dental coverage.

Auditors recommend that the Upper Darby school board limit the accumulation of unused sick leave and the amount paid to superintendents for additional retirement benefits.

In response, school board members questioned why the auditor general’s office was commenting on the superintendent’s retirement package, saying the compensation was not illegal, negotiated in good faith and discussed and approved publicly by the board.

“While it may seem appropriate to reward a long-time educator with a generous retirement package, too many school boards across the state are putting lucrative contract terms ahead of the classroom educational needs of students,” DePasquale said. “We need to strike a balance between fair compensation to attract quality administrators and putting as much funding as possible in the classrooms.”

During the 2009-10 school year, the Upper Darby School District provided basic education to nearly 12,000 students and employed 879 teachers, 1,009 full- and part-time support personnel, and 50 administrators. The district received $52.8 million in state funding in the 2009-10 school year.

The department’s Bureau of School Audits examines the records of school districts, charter schools, intermediate units, and area vocational-technical schools. The audits — among other things — assess whether or not school entities received the state subsidies and reimbursements to which they were entitled, accurately managed taxpayer funds, and complied with ethics codes. The audits also determine whether or not teachers and administrators were properly certified for the positions they held during the audit period.

A full copy of the Upper Darby School District audit report is online at:

www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Reports/School.html.

Photo/Natalie Cake