District's Error Gives Clinton School Secretary $10,000 Raise
By: Jocelyn Tovar, KARK 4 NEWS
Updated: October 2, 2012
Superintendent James McGaha told KARK the school board has already taken the necessary steps to try and correct the issue.
However he also said even though it was made in error, these contracts usually stand.
"I didn't know what I was doing would be questioned and is not legal," said McGaha. "And when I found out it was I sought legal council."
That legal council adviced getting the district's personnel policy committee involved.
They now have ten days to rule on a corrective purposal the school board has submitted.
The superintendent was vague about the details surrounding the raise, telling us whether it was a raise or whether the employee was given extra duties is debatable.
So we looked back at old school board meeting minutes and found at the July 12th meeting this year the board approved combining two existing salaries to create the position the employee in question now holds.
Again superintendent McGaha would not confirm this is what happened, he did however tell KARK the entire situation has been a nightmare.
"It keeps me up," McGaha said, "Sometimes I don't sleep at night. It's an agonizing experience."
McGaha also said this type of disagreement among school employees can have negative effects on students who might not be getting the adult's full attention.
However he also said even though it was made in error, these contracts usually stand.
"I didn't know what I was doing would be questioned and is not legal," said McGaha. "And when I found out it was I sought legal council."
That legal council adviced getting the district's personnel policy committee involved.
They now have ten days to rule on a corrective purposal the school board has submitted.
The superintendent was vague about the details surrounding the raise, telling us whether it was a raise or whether the employee was given extra duties is debatable.
So we looked back at old school board meeting minutes and found at the July 12th meeting this year the board approved combining two existing salaries to create the position the employee in question now holds.
Again superintendent McGaha would not confirm this is what happened, he did however tell KARK the entire situation has been a nightmare.
"It keeps me up," McGaha said, "Sometimes I don't sleep at night. It's an agonizing experience."
McGaha also said this type of disagreement among school employees can have negative effects on students who might not be getting the adult's full attention.
