Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Buckeye Elementary School District (BESD) and Superintendent Kristi Wilson for alleged “additional compensation.”
“Transparency and accountability are not electives in our public school districts,” said Brnovich in a press release. “Hardworking taxpayers expect these public funds to be expended in accordance with the law and the best interest of students.”
School districts exist to enrich our communities, not themselves. The Buckeye Elementary School District and superintendent must be held accountable.https://t.co/EsHapI7b8H
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) December 28, 2022
This alleged scandal stemmed from a report released by the Arizona Auditor General (AAG), which states that between July 2016 and December 2021, the BESD paid Wilson $1,712,976 in additional compensation. The report shared that the “additional compensation” was related to purchasing 11 years of retirement service credits and payments for unused leave. This alleged surplus brought Wilson’s total pay during that time to $3,274,505.
Additionally, the AAG stated that the BESD “omitted critical information” related to Wilson’s “additional compensation” in employment agreements. For example, two of three contracts reportedly did not include the amount or limit of the compensation, the number of retirement credits Wilson was being compensated for, or how many years of credits Wilson could purchase each year of the agreement. The AAG stated that this omission of information meant the district governing board could not make an informed decision.
“Although voting governing board members were aware they were agreeing for the District to pay for the superintendent’s purchase of retirement credits, none knew the District was paying for 11 years, and most did not know the costs of those credits,” according to the AAG.
Moreover, the AAG stated that the BESD miscalculated Wilson’s “required withholdings,” so $571,256 of the $1.7 million were overpayments.
When the report was initially released, the BESD denied the claims. It stated that the governing board was not in the dark about approving the retirement credits for Wilson and that the payments were in exchange for her retaining her position at a time when the district was growing. Moreover, the district’s payroll records, including amounts paid to the superintendent, are open for inspection and available to the public. As for the withholding errors, the BESD stated that Wilson’s contracts specified her payments would include costs associated with tax withholdings so that she would have the net amount needed for credit purchases.
However, Brnovich is here with his lawsuit. He argued that even with the conditions of Wilson’s contracts, the district still overpaid her, insisting that $501,875 of the amount she received was not required by employment agreement terms. Considering the additional revenue Wilson gets from the district, Brnovich stated that her compensation was 163 percent higher than the average pay of her peer district’s superintendents for 2017 through 2021.
Brnovich argued that the compensation was “grossly disproportionate to, the consideration that BESD received in return from Wilson” and therefore violated the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution. For relief, he requested the court declare that the “additional compensation” violated Arizona law and recover all monies illegally paid to Wilson.
As reported by AZ Family, the BESD responded to the lawsuit by maintaining its innocents. The district stated that the governing board has the legal authority to determine the salary and benefits of the superintendent and did no gifting when approving Wilson’s contract. Additionally, the district affirmed that it has stayed within budget and signaled disappointment, alleging Brnovich did not alert the governing board of the lawsuit before releasing it.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mark Brnovich” by Mark Brnovich.
