Schau made $6.5 million “accounting error” in previous job

Main Township High School District 207 in suburban Chicago is having a serious budget crisis. According to the Daily Herald, they are looking at cutting 137 jobs, 75 of them teachers. Why?

After months of alluding to an “accounting error” that led to a larger-than-anticipated deficit that year, District 207 administrators last week explained how it happened.

The district’s current leaders learned last July – weeks after Superintendent Joel Morris and Assistant Superintendent for Business Pamela Schau [emphasis added] retired – that a projected deficit of $3.8 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year was actually $10.3 million.

Pamela Schau became the Comptroller/Treasurer at Peoria Public School District 150 right after she retired from District 207 in July 2009, replacing Guy Cahill. The Daily Herald article continues:

What officials didn’t anticipate was the additional $6.5 million deficit due to the then-administration’s failure to include some expenses in that year’s budget, current Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary Kalou said.

Those missed expenses were salaries and benefits for some of the 12 newly hired teachers and teaching assistants and increased district contribution toward the Teacher Retirement System per changes made to the teachers contract – amounting to $2.4 million.

The district also saw a dip that year in property tax revenues – personal property tax receipts came in 1 percent lower or $1.5 million under what was budgeted and corporate property taxes were down $500,000 as per the report from the
free invoice template used by most of the business- that weren’t known until after Kalou joined the district last July 1.

“It’s hard to say what they should, shouldn’t have done,” Kalou said. “Hindsight is always going to be 20/20. (With taxes) you can’t predict with certainty what that trend is going to be for … it was a reasonable amount to budget.”

Other contributors to the deficit were two unexpected early retirements – including Schau – that cost the district a $300,000 penalty under state law, and lower than expected revenues from the district’s book store, summer school and tuition, she added.

An anonymous commenter on the Daily Herald article suggested that District 207, under Superintendent Ken Wallace, “paid a nearly 200,000 penalty to TRS to hasten the departure of error-maker Pam Schau.” Consider the source on that last comment. Sometimes anonymous commenters are ignorant cranks with an axe to grind; other times they are conscientious citizens with insider information they could get fired (or compromise their source) for sharing on the record. Wallace was quoted in the June 26 (2009) Journal Star as saying Schau is a “really, really bright, talented person … genuinely a nice person, good people skills, good problem solving – Peoria would be well served, lucky, to get her.”

A request for comment from Ms. Schau was not immediately answered.

114 thoughts on “Schau made $6.5 million “accounting error” in previous job”

  1. Still on the subject of money and District 150–When the vote was taken to close Woodruff, did anyone suggest that it would cost $3 million now and another $3 million later to make room at Peora High for the additional students? I would think that board members should have known about this cost before they voted to “save” money by closing Woodruff. Oh, I forgot, District 150 money won’t be used–just PBC money that grows on trees.

  2. “It really is enough to make one want to move to Canada, eh?”

    Buh bye, enjoy your new improved health care

    “as you would not intentionally hire a s*xual predator”

    Why the self-edit here? Sexual is not a dirty word.

    “WHY she was retiring early from a good school District and relocating to a new community in order to take on a demanding job in a financially strapped school district????”

    GREAT question. I dread the answer…

    “they bought a bunch of houses and were planning on building a school without talking to the taxpayers first.”

    Nooooo… they din’t… did they really? (KIDDING)
    Has there ever been a final accounting of that financial and public relations disaster?

    “$3 million now and another $3 million later”

    What happened to the $1.7 million?

  3. DistrictWatch (150) is meeting at 6 p.m. at Godfather’s Sunday, February 7. All are welcome–I’m sure the TV will be on for Super Bowl watchers.

  4. That’s right, Sharon, I forgot about the Super Bowl. Don’t know if my family will let me off the hook! Do you know, or can you say, what topics might be up for discussion? Just curious.

  5. Anything we want to discuss is always on the list. Certainly the expansion of PHS (and the cost). Also, we’ll know by 4 p.m. what surprises, if any, are on the board’s agenda

  6. The IL FOIA laws for e-mails have been around for a few years. What is new is that the Atty General will impose a fine on a gov’t that willfully and intentionally violates the FOIA. If you FOIA e-mails, you may get more than you bargained for. For example, if you FOIA e-mails from “X”, you might also get e-mails sent to “X” if they used the “Reply” button to respond. FOIA was established to protect citizens from gov’t agencies who don’t respect their rights.

  7. Regarding the lawsuits by Benassi and Benassi against D150: Is this law firm popular for their track record, or is it because they don’t charge a fee unless they win?

  8. She is relentless. Even settlement, if the District elects to pursue this avenue, will cost them. Ms. Benassi earns her fee off the total damages received by the client(S). This could be potentially very damaging for the school financially.

  9. There will be no real winners in this case. I find it deplorable that the district cannot find a way to resolve these personnel issues before they become lawsuits. They had plenty of warning. The relationships between administrators and teachers (when they become adversarial) never get the attention they deserve from the central administration and the board. In my opinion, the admin and board (who choose the administrators) find it difficult to look at both sides of a conflict in order to find a solution. Each complaint should have been handled as it arose–now the complaints have stacked up high enough to draw the attention of Ms. Benassi. Yes, Frustrated, it’s my understanding that the district is using up its spare lawsuit money on the Davis case–yet another situation that should have been handled in-house when complaints and evidence were first “ignored.”

  10. Sharon – I think you are absolutely correct. It has been my experience that principals receive little or no supervisory training from the District. Can anyone else speak to this issue? Part of a principal’s duty is supervising employees and managing employee relations within a school. In defense of the District, this type of training is costly and time consuming and I am sure there is little room for such expenditures given the District’s budget.

  11. just me, are you a D150 BoE member? If so, what is the “situation” in the Davis case? I hear that the district’s insurance company didn’t even get lawyers for each of the 4 involved because they know they don’t have a case. BTW, I read a couple of weeks ago that the state’s attorney hired a “forensic” accountant to go through the “cooked books”. What’s going on with that? Just curious!

  12. Just me–If you aren’t “Just Jim” then you should identify yourself so as not to be confused with someone who generally speaks to me in the same manner. He is “notorious” for that! 🙂 If you are referring to my “understanding that the district is using up its lawsuit money”–could be, but I heard it from a board member.
    Frustrated, that’s the problem–since when do we have to hire a company to teach administrators how to handle conflicts among employees? In the old days, administrators were chosen because they had “people” skills–because they had the interest of the school–not their own interests–at heart. I could tell you story after story about how Buck Smith, the principal at Roosevelt Jr. High, handled disagreements among the faculty. Frankly, he was more of a “father” to all of us–he handled the problems in a way that made all of us know that he cared about us and our welfare and the welfare of our students. It was a gift–I guess few have it today.

  13. You can beg central office and the board for conflict resolution but you can forget it. At least this is how it was with Hinton. Of course he hired tyrants as directors so what can you expect?

  14. D150 doesn’t hire administrators based on their people skills Sharon. Their criteria is quite different! If they did hire based on people skills, I would guarantee that at least 65% of the administrators at the building level would not be employed. I actually had a teacher tell me that one administrator in particular, was a horrible teacher, so she was quite shocked when this person became an administrator……nepotism at its finest!

  15. How exactly would one summarize the Davis/McArdle debacle? Is this going to cost taxpayers a fortune because those in power acted without gathering evidence to substantiate one person’s claims against another? I wonder how long it will be before that happens again (if it hasn’t already). My position is that the winners in these cases will be the people spared of mistreatment in the future.

  16. That Parent-

    I would summarize the situation as being unfortunate and avoidable. I agree “that the winners in the case will be the people spared of mistreatment in the future”.
    I am hopeful that the new superintendent will have the wisdom and integrity necessary to prevent a similiar situation from happening in the future.

  17. I agree there might be winners–people who may not be mistreated in the future. In a rare moment for me, I would like to offer a possible cause for all of the conflicts in 150: NCLB. I know that it began the conflict between teachers and administrators at Manual almost immediately, and I believe it was the same throughout the district and probably the country. Principals began to threaten teachers with all the bad things that would happen to them and the school if students didn’t make AYP–that the state would come in and take over schools, that we would lose our jobs, and on and on. I have no doubt that similar pressure was put on principals by the superintendent. Working in an environment of constant threats, etc., doesn’t make for an atmosphere conducive to teaching and learning. Besides (and many of you may disagree) many inner city teachers are just fighting a losing battle. I have just completed a study of all NCLB percentages for the last 8 years and the percentages of low income families in District 150 schools. Correlation between NCLB AYP percentages and low income is so very obvious. District 150 is at fault for not addressing the real problems: discipline and literacy. Also, ever since District 150 eliminated all industrial arts and home economics courses, etc., all students are placed in nothing but academic courses (no wonder there are discipline problems)–with the ridiculous assumption that all students are college-bound. In fact, NCLB has that has its goal–it just isn’t reality. We are giving these kids absolutely no realistic choices. In the old days kids who did not do well in academic courses had success in the shop classes. Many of those kids matured later in life–after having the skills to get employment–and then they went to college, etc., when they were ready.

  18. I don’t disagree with you at all. However, the recent Davis/McArdle case doesn’t seem related to NCLB. It appears that people in high places chose a popular person’s team without considering the facts. The BOE wants to earn the public’s trust. I really believe they are sincere. That’s going to require the decision makers to get to the truth in these matters BEFORE taking action.

  19. sadly, the district had the truth on the davis case the whole time. they chose to ignore it.

  20. Shank–No, the Davis case as little to do with NCLB, but I believe the Trewyn case does since there is tension about AYP scores–blaming teachers, etc. You state the decision makers should get the truth before they take action. The problem is in the Davis case and in the Trewyn case, they took no action when confronted with the problem. They operate more on the principle that these negative things will just go away. Also, they have to come to grips with the fact that blogs and FOIAs bring things to the attention of the public–thingsthat used to be swept under the rug. The “head in the sand” approach used to work a bit better than it does now.

  21. Sharon–I bet you could write a a book about the changes that have occurred during the past 43 years in our schools. The recent changes to FOIA are going to cause a change in the culture of non-transparency. The new D150 operational policies protect the district from having to legally defend employees for mis-conduct. That might explain why it was mentioned that the district didn’t hire an atty for the four mentioned in the McArdle suit (don’t know if that’s true).

  22. Why on the board mtg. agenda is there an action item to purchase SCIENTIFIC LEARNING CORPORATION FAST FORWORD AND READING ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR NORTHMOOR-EDISON PRIMARY SCHOOL? I see Otto, the current title I director is heading that up. He used to be an Edison employee. I thought NE’s curriculum and supplies were determined by Edison. Also, I would think other schools could benefit from this program. Why aren’t they getting it?

  23. strong1–You noticed that, too–evidently Edison doesn’t supply all the extras at Northmoor! Yes, it’s too bad the other schools can’t benefit. I didn’t know about Otto’s connection to Edison–but Terry did. I Googled this company and got, “The company provides language series for elementary learners and literacy series for adolescent learners to build foundational reading and language skills to help districts move below grade level learners to be successful learners in the general classroom, as well as reading series of products to build learning capacity through developing cognitive skills using exercises focused on critical reading abilities, such as phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, spelling, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. It also offers Progress Tracker, an Internet-based data analysis and reporting tool, which analyzes students? learning results to provide diagnostic and prescriptive intervention information, and allows educators to track and report their students? learning progress.”
    Apparently Edison needs a little help–and wny is the diagnostic info necessary–aren’t “Edison’s benchmarks” doing the job?
    Yes, I could write a book–and probably have–on C.J.’s blog.

  24. just curious: I am not sure. But I think pretty far back Just be sure to request them from the server.

    Does anyone know is Hinton officially working for Edison, AGAIN?

  25. The BOE voted 4-1 to remove McArdle. Who was the BOE member who voted against the recommendation to terminate?

  26. Shank: Martha Ross was the only board member “present” to vote against termination. She said there was simply not enough information made to the BoE in a timely fashion to support a termination. It was all (supposedly) perfectly coreographed by Mary Davis and Co. What they didn’t plan was that when McArdle was told to resign or be terminated, she said, you’ll have to fire me because I have done NOTHING that would warrant quitting. We have since found out (through the media) that MD needed a scapegoat—and fast, to cover her money “mishandling” scheme. MD spent the entire school year “working” parents and others into believing that McArdle was not a “good fit” at Lindbergh. What MD didn’t count on was an honest woman of integrity, who refused to be bullied into quitting a job she loved. Yes, the wheels of justice move quite slow in Peoria, IL folks….

  27. Maybe Martha will be voted President by her peers on the BOE eventually. The three people named in the McArdle suit are now gone. What, if any, responsibility do the board members bear?

  28. all 3 people named in the suit are gone….the boe is also named. I will assure you that justice will be done for Mcardle. criminal charges ARE going to be brought. Just be patient…

  29. They will all claim personal immunity from their actions as administrators… so the District will be stuck with the liability and damages. Ahhh… American corporate justice. Will we be able to put the District behind bars for 10-20 years?

  30. charlie. they may be able to on the civil case but NOT on the criminal case. that is the justice McArdle deserves….as well as DAMAGES for what this has done to her good name. shame on d150 et. al. for what they have done to this womaand her career….

  31. What about D150’s legal counsel? Were they consulted prior to the decision/recommendation to dismiss Julie? Did they give “bad” advice, or were they not privy to the unsubstantiated claims?

  32. I suspect McCardle only uncovered a fraction of the antics that are going on. The County would probably need to hire several asst. state’s attorneys to get to the bottom of it all.

  33. parent. my guess is that Hinton did his best to sweep this under the rug….sadly I believe he let md call the shots…

  34. If Julie FOIAed in late Feb. to get the evidence to support her claims, D150 had to read those e-mails prior to handing them over because of the need to redact private details not covered under FOIA. It looks like she was punished for trying to do the right thing.

  35. a whistle blower of mythological proportions. For every worker bee that has a boss holding them down, be strong and stay true to WWJD. (WhatWouldJulieDo)

  36. in the know. I am glad they are doing a detailed job on getting to the bottom of all of this. However, it is outrageous how long it is taking. We continue to pay Mary Davis. Pretty soon she can retire with full benefits.

  37. it’s only taxpayers’ money, strong1; it takes time to sort out who is going to take the fall and who is going to have “plausible denyability”

  38. As far as WWJD, ask yourself, what would you do? How do you make right in your life that someone else has made wrong? If you are driving down a street and someone goes through a red light and hits you, do you not seek relief from being wronged? If a neighborhood dog bites your child, leaving permanent scars, do you not seek relief for the suffering of your child? A whistle blower of mythical proportions? What would you do? What Mary Davis, et. al. did to Julie McArdle is nothing short of despicable and the fact that Ken Hinton buried his head in the sand……trusting Mary Davis and parents (recruited by MD) to tell him the “truth”. How this woman is still being paid by D150 is an even bigger sin. Complaining about McArdle seeking financial relief from what this district has done to her, yet no complaints about MD being paid her regular paycheck plus benefits since September 8th, while she sits at home (in Dunlap). People, wake up, does anyone really believe that MD did nothing wrong? Read the lawsuit. Read the evidence (all can be found online). Remember, MD has a PhD. She was well aware of the importance of good financial record keeping. One of the first classes you take when working on obtaining a Type 75 (administrator’s certificate) is school finance. Sorry folks, MD cannot lie her way out of this one…..

  39. Plausible deniability is not going to fly when e-mails provided by the D150 server are the evidence. Who were the four board members who took the bait? Board members of financial institutions have insurance to protect them. What about school board members? I still don’t see their names mentioned in the lawsuit. Want to know if this behavior is still occurring? Go FOIA some e-mails.

  40. you cannot sue individual board members. They act as a board, therefore, sued as a board. You cannot remove the people who didn’t vote or voted against the firing. The four people in the suit are Mary Davis, Tom Broderick, Ken Hinton, and the D150 School Board. The people that voted to fire Julie McArdle are: Jim Stowell, Rachel Parker, Deb Wolfmeyer, and Linda Butler. (Laura Patelle had not been seated yet). Board members, Gorenz and Spangler were absent, although it has been leaked that Spangler gave quite a “vicious” presentation based on information given to her by Mary Davis and friends, then did not stay around for the vote. In my world, we would call Mary Spangler and bomb thrower. Just likes to stand back and watch it all wreak havoc around her. Very sad, I used to like her!

  41. Ever heard of a seagull? You know, they come into a meeting, flap their wings, squawk alot, sh*t all over the place, then leave.

  42. I have nothing but distain and distrust for the majority of D150 Board Members. They claim to do their due diligence, but don’t. They rubber stamped everything Hinton put in front of them. In fact, board members have admitted to me that they believed everything Hinton said to them—-until right before he left. How sad.

  43. I ask for quite a bit of information through FOIAs–information that I believe should be of interest to board members. I wonder how much information is solicited by board members–or if they just believe that everything that is given them is all they need to know.

  44. The truth? After observing an inappropriate conversation inside my school, I thought someone would want to know. Boy was I wrong. I pointed out that the conversation took place in full view of the surveillance camera. That was the day the attack on my character began. It appears that past practice is to punish the messenger.

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