News
Apr 21 2010
School boards group awaits final word on signed name as investigation of finances continues
A handwriting expert continues to try to determine whether the former board president of the Iowa Association of School Boards actually signed the contract raising the salary of the organization's executive director.
A decision on the authenticity of that signature could play a significant role in determining whether fraud was involved last fall when former Executive Director Maxine Kilcrease received a $157,000 pay raise.
"We don't have a definitive answer from the handwriting expert at this point," association attorney Nolden Gentry said Friday. "We're harassing him on a daily basis, but we have not gotten the final word."
The examination of the signature is one part of a series of investigations into the finances of the school board association, which is a publicly funded but privately managed organization. Forensic auditors and state and federal law enforcement officials are investigating allegations that the association misspent taxpayer money.
Meanwhile, one of the chairs of the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee said Friday that the committee had issued no subpoenas for its April 29 meeting.
"We're getting in contact with everyone and figuring out who is available to come in," said Rep. Vicki Lensing, an Iowa City Democrat. "Depending on who does or doesn't work out a time to come in and see us, we will then be able to use the subpoena power."
The association's former chief financial officer, Kevin Schick, was fired in January for allegedly lying to board members about a fictitious million-dollar deal to sell one of the organization's revenue-generating programs.
Schick is also alleged to have used an association credit card to help pay for a vacation to Bora Bora in December.
Records obtained by The Des Moines Register show that Kilcrease's predecessor, Ron Rice, traveled with his wife to resorts in Puerto Rico, Hawaii and elsewhere at association expense to attend conferences.
In an e-mail to Kilcrease, Rice wrote: "I always used this as a way to get some vacation in and usually took my kids. We went to Puerto Rico, Key West, Stowe (VT), Hawaii, Maryland, Colorado, Oregon (Bend) and a bunch of other places."
The association fired Kilcrease last month, alleging that she had raised her own salary from $210,000 to $367,000 without the approval of the board.
Kilcrease has said the pay raise may have been someone else's attempt at a "setup."
Last summer, Kilcrease signed her original contract with the association on behalf of both herself and the association's board of directors.
No one else signed the document, which guaranteed Kilcrease a salary of $210,000.
In the fall, the contract was revised so that the association would increase Kilcrease's gross pay to offset payroll taxes and other deductions. The signature on that contract is purportedly that of Jack Hill, who was then president of the board of directors.
Hill told the Register last month that he approved Kilcrease's pay increase, but he has since told association officials that he doesn't recall signing the revised contract.
As a result, association officials are having the document analyzed to determine whether it bears Hill's actual signature.
Gentry has said that because the full board never approved the agreement, the association considers the second contract invalid regardless of whether Hill signed it. Still, if the investigation shows that Hill's signature was forged, that could point to fraud.
The signature that's being scrutinized is similar to Hill's signature on other association documents, but there are differences. The signature on the contract appears to have been attempted twice, with the second attempt written on top of the first.
It's not clear whether any of the association's attorneys reviewed either of Kilcrease's contracts, and it's not known why Kilcrease was allowed to sign the initial contract on behalf of both herself and her employer.
The Legislature's oversight committee has been looking into the association, but it has yet to hear from Kilcrease, Rice or Schick.
Lensing said she didn't know whether Kilcrease would be willing to appear voluntarily. "Obviously, Maxine is someone we'd like to talk to," she said.
Attorneys for Schick and Kilcrease could not be reached for comment Friday.
A decision on the authenticity of that signature could play a significant role in determining whether fraud was involved last fall when former Executive Director Maxine Kilcrease received a $157,000 pay raise.
"We don't have a definitive answer from the handwriting expert at this point," association attorney Nolden Gentry said Friday. "We're harassing him on a daily basis, but we have not gotten the final word."
The examination of the signature is one part of a series of investigations into the finances of the school board association, which is a publicly funded but privately managed organization. Forensic auditors and state and federal law enforcement officials are investigating allegations that the association misspent taxpayer money.
Meanwhile, one of the chairs of the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee said Friday that the committee had issued no subpoenas for its April 29 meeting.
"We're getting in contact with everyone and figuring out who is available to come in," said Rep. Vicki Lensing, an Iowa City Democrat. "Depending on who does or doesn't work out a time to come in and see us, we will then be able to use the subpoena power."
The association's former chief financial officer, Kevin Schick, was fired in January for allegedly lying to board members about a fictitious million-dollar deal to sell one of the organization's revenue-generating programs.
Schick is also alleged to have used an association credit card to help pay for a vacation to Bora Bora in December.
Records obtained by The Des Moines Register show that Kilcrease's predecessor, Ron Rice, traveled with his wife to resorts in Puerto Rico, Hawaii and elsewhere at association expense to attend conferences.
In an e-mail to Kilcrease, Rice wrote: "I always used this as a way to get some vacation in and usually took my kids. We went to Puerto Rico, Key West, Stowe (VT), Hawaii, Maryland, Colorado, Oregon (Bend) and a bunch of other places."
The association fired Kilcrease last month, alleging that she had raised her own salary from $210,000 to $367,000 without the approval of the board.
Kilcrease has said the pay raise may have been someone else's attempt at a "setup."
Last summer, Kilcrease signed her original contract with the association on behalf of both herself and the association's board of directors.
No one else signed the document, which guaranteed Kilcrease a salary of $210,000.
In the fall, the contract was revised so that the association would increase Kilcrease's gross pay to offset payroll taxes and other deductions. The signature on that contract is purportedly that of Jack Hill, who was then president of the board of directors.
Hill told the Register last month that he approved Kilcrease's pay increase, but he has since told association officials that he doesn't recall signing the revised contract.
As a result, association officials are having the document analyzed to determine whether it bears Hill's actual signature.
Gentry has said that because the full board never approved the agreement, the association considers the second contract invalid regardless of whether Hill signed it. Still, if the investigation shows that Hill's signature was forged, that could point to fraud.
The signature that's being scrutinized is similar to Hill's signature on other association documents, but there are differences. The signature on the contract appears to have been attempted twice, with the second attempt written on top of the first.
It's not clear whether any of the association's attorneys reviewed either of Kilcrease's contracts, and it's not known why Kilcrease was allowed to sign the initial contract on behalf of both herself and her employer.
The Legislature's oversight committee has been looking into the association, but it has yet to hear from Kilcrease, Rice or Schick.
Lensing said she didn't know whether Kilcrease would be willing to appear voluntarily. "Obviously, Maxine is someone we'd like to talk to," she said.
Attorneys for Schick and Kilcrease could not be reached for comment Friday.
