School Committee member and mayoral candidate Antonette Pepe is asking the state auditor to take a look at the controversial deal that gave Superintendent Alan Ingram an additional $30,000 to buy a house in the city—something Ingram never did.
In a letter dated today, Pepe asks Auditor Suzanne Bump to “review this transaction and determine if the $30,000 payment to ‘acquire a residence in Springfield’ is waste and/or abuse and, more importantly, whether the $30,000 should be repaid to the city since Dr. Ingram did not acquire a residence in Springfield, despite his request to extend the time in which to do so.”
Pepe said that School Committee members were never informed of the $30,000 bonus, which was spelled out in a so-called “side letter” to Ingram’s 2008 employment contract. That letter was signed by Steve Lisauskas, executive director of the Finance Control Board that had been put in place by the state to oversee city finances.
That letter referred to Ingram receiving a “market differential,” described as thus: “In recognition of the additional expenses you will incur in acquiring a residence in Springfield, the School Department will pay you thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) to compensate for the higher cost of real estate in Springfield. Understanding that this payment may be required to assist you in making a down payment while potentially maintaining your current residence in Oklahoma City, this payment shall be made to you no later [than] August 18, 2008.”
The deal also guaranteed Ingram reimbursement for his moving expenses, as well as up to $2,000 a month, for up to eight months, for “temporary housing … until you move into your permanent residence in Springfield.”
In July of 2009—a year after he was hired—Ingram and Lisauskas signed a second letter granting the superintendent an extension of the relocation-reimbursement benefit, at Ingram’s request. “You have been unable to move to Springfield during the first year of your agreement,” the letter noted. “While this incentive expires shortly, there remains a public benefit to your moving to the city.” The extension, it went on “will continue to provide you an incentive to relocate to Springfield and further deepen your roots in the community.”
Last week, the School Committee voted to ask Ingram to return the money, as he never bought a house in the city, or moved his family here from Oklahoma, where he lived before taking the job. That vote has no teeth, however, and City Solicitor Ed Pikula had already issued an opinion saying Ingram had no legal obligation to return the money.
Ingram recently announced that he won’t see a new contract when his current one expires next summer.
While it remains to be seen whether Bump will step in on the matter, School Committee members aren’t done with their own efforts. As Pepe wrote to the auditor, the Committee “is also reviewing Dr. Ingram’s expense vouchers and receipts to determine whether they comply with accepted municipal practices and the terms of his contract.”
