Teacher Parent Synergy

Oxnard School District trustees are considering an outside review of a 2008 retirement program that was offered to employees as a cost-savings measure but ended up saving little, if any, money.

The plan, originally expected to save as much as $872,563 over five years, had only a $36,496 projected savings when it was approved by the board in May 2008. Now, district officials say they aren’t sure it saved any cash and questions have been raised about whether it was set up properly.

Included in the concerns, the program had no in-district service requirement other than an employee had to work at the district during the fiscal year the plan was offered, according to a report from the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team. Three managers, including a former chief business officer, who retired under the plan, had served less than three years at the district, the report says.

“We expected it would be just a small savings,” said Trustee Denis O’Leary, but the question now is if the information provided to the board was misleading.

Trustees are considering at their meeting Wednesday night hiring an independent counsel to review the Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan. O’Leary said he’s hoping such a review will help clarify some of the issues.

Records show 43 employees were set to participate in the program in May 2008. That’s almost half the 81 employees first projected to participate when the plan was brought to the board earlier that same month.

The district hired consultant Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team to look into the retirement plan and make recommendations about how the district could improve future offerings and received its report in 2009. The group also has looked at a number of other district operations over the past two years.

During the state budget crisis, many school districts have looked at retirement incentive programs as a way to help lower staffing costs or reduce the need for layoffs, according to the group.

In May 2008, the Oxnard board signed off on developing such a program and hired insurance company Keenan and Associates to design and analyze the plan.

FCMAT outlined several concerns with the program, including that three managers had less than three years at the district but qualified for the program, including former CBO Jim Moranville who retired in June 2008 after starting with the district in August 2005. Moranville could not be reached for comment.

If the plan had required at least five years of service, participants would have been limited and the savings to the district would have been $285,187 higher, according to the FCMAT report.

It’s unclear whether there was any wrongdoing, but trustees said they want to consider hiring an attorney to look into the matter.

Several months ago and again facing deep state cuts, Oxnard School District offered employees an early retirement program developed by district staff. That program, which included about 40 employees, is expected to save just under $100,000 over a three-year period.

Employees had to be at least 55 and needed at least eight consecutive years in the district and 15 years in public education, according to the district. The program also had to provide a savings.

Trustee Ana Del Rio-Barba said she feels good about the latest program offered to employees. She’s still reviewing information about the 2008 program, but said she doesn’t think the board was given the full story before it signed off on the plan.

Similar Posts:

• Audit questions Rio School District agreement with Boys & Girls Clubs
• College board refines goals for district
• Burbank administrator chosen for Oxnard superintendent post
• Sodexo to keep running Oxnard Union school cafeterias
• District must reimburse millions for school meals

Tags: Oxnard School, Program, Retirement Program

No Comments yet »