Arbeitman Departing Fox on June 30, 2015 - He'll Get $66,647 Voluntary Incentive Separation Program Payout

The November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 board meeting packet was posted today. Below are a few key points from the board packet.

This article was updated at 7:45PM on Wednesday November 12, 2014 to include the KMOV News Channel 4 story from Russell Kinsaul at the bottom of the article. I also corrected the article to state that it is Dan Kroupa's sister-in-law that owns the Jewel Box Florist. It is NOT his sister. My apologies for the mistake.


Changes Made To VSIP at 11/03/2014 Board Meeting
Second Update at 11:30PM on Wednesday November 12, 2014. After watching the video from KMOV Channel 4 News, Mr. Brazeal stated that this program was for employees vested into the Public School Retirement System. However, that WAS NOT true prior to the November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 board workshop.

Fox's CURRENT board policies that are posted on the district website HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED to reflect the changes made to the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program which became the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.

What's Been Removed
In reviewing the changes made to the Voluntary Incentive Separation Program (VSIP) and just published for the first time yesterday in the November 18, 2014 Board Packet, the Requirement that a an employee must have completed a minimum of ten years of full-time service in the Fox C-6 School District in order to be eligible for the VSIP program HAS BEEN REMOVED!

Prior to November 3, 2014, Andy Arbeitman WOULD NOT have been eligible for the VSIP program.

I have assembled the November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 board meeting minutes from the November 18, 2014 board meeting packet as well as the new VSIP agreement and current board Policy 4740.1 to compare the old language to the new language for the Incentive Program.

If you read the board meeting minutes about the VSIP program, you'll notice that there was NO MENTION about the removal of the requirement to complete a minimum of ten years of full-time service in the Fox C-6 School District. It also wasn't mentioned during the board workshop that the 10 year requirement was being removed when the changes were presented to the board.

The new VSIP agreement refers to board policy GBN which DOES NOT EXIST. Board policy GBN is a Missouri School Board Association policy designation which Fox does not use. Fox uses school board policies created by our former law firm.

The new VSIP agreement also contains language that states that any employee accepting the new VSIP agreement "agrees to release any and all claims that the employee may have against the district, including the District's affiliates and subsidiaries, together with their respective members, directors, officers, agents and employees, and their attorneys, including but not limited to, claims for compensatory damages, emotional distress, loss of reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, costs, expenses and attorney's fees."

It goes on to state that, "Employee hereby waives, releases, remises, and forever discharges the School District, Board of Education, and their affiliates and subsidiaries, together with their respective members, directors, officers, agents, and employees, including their attorneys, whether in their respective individual of (typo) or official capacities, from any and all claims or other causes of action he or she may have against them, including, but not limited to, any alleged rights or claims arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act..."

There is a lot more release language contained in the new VSIP agreement. Basically, the updated VSIP has been written as a way for the district to do some CYA for any and all wrong doing of current and former employees and board members. It is a MUST READ document!

The new VSIP gives the appearance that the Incentive Program is now being used as "hush money". It's also giving away taxpayer money to those who would not have qualified before. The board needs to be questioned about this change. It is unacceptable!

Click on the link below to read the new VSIP agreement, the current Early Retirement Incentive policy and the November 3, 2014 board workshop minutes.

November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 Board Workshop Minutes and VSIP Changes

Below is what the current Fox C-6 Board Polices and Regulations state as requirements for the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program:

Regulation 4740.1 (Current Version)  /  4750 (2014 Draft Version)

Full-time staff members who meet all of the following conditions are eligible for early retirement pay upon leaving the employ of the Fox C-6 School District: 

1. Have completed a minimum of ten years of full-time service as an employee in the Fox C-6 School District 

2. Will have obtained a minimum of twenty years and no more than 31 years of credit in the Missouri Teacher Retirement System (as verified by the PSRS) or the Non-Teacher Retirement System (as verified by the NTRS (PEERS)) in the employee’s final contract year. The 20- 31 years of retirement system credit would include all out-of-state, in-state, or military credit purchased by the individual. This program will not be extended to individuals with more than 31 years of credit in the PSRS or NTRS (PEERS) or to those individuals with fewer than 20 years of credit in the PSRS or NTRS (PEERS).

The newer DRAFT version of the above Regulation is 4750. The newer DRAFT version of Fox's policies posted earlier this year have not yet been approved by the school board. It has the same language as Regulation 4740.1 with the exception that NTRS has been changed to PEERS.

Some Highlights from the November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 School Board Meeting Packet

Fox's November 18, 2014 Board Packet on District Site

• Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman will be leaving the district June 30, 2015.
• Mr. Arbeitman will be paid $66,647.50 taking the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.
  (See more below)
• Two IT 3 employees are receiving $10,000+ raises according to the Contract Modifications section of the board packet. The salary raises are as follows:
• $38,696 to $48,878
• $47,340 to $58,153
  View the Contract Modifications
• Board being asked to approve the updated Code of Ethics / Nepotism Policy as presented in the board packet.
  View the changes!
• Fox changed their Professional Development Plan to a Professional Learning Plan. The changes include updated amounts and approvals for travel and hotel stays as well as reimbursement requirements.
  View Professional Learning Plan Update
• Checks for Seckman Athletic Director Brad Duncan were printed as a separate report for easy abstention when approving checks. Brad Duncan is Fox C-6 board member Vern Sullivan's son.
• View Checks to Brad Duncan
• Checks for the Jewel Box Florist were printed on a separate report for easy abstention. The Jewel Box Florist is owned by the sister in-law of Fox C-6 board member Dan Kroupa.
  (NOTE: This post was corrected to properly reflect "sister in-law". My original post stated "sister" instead of "sister in-law". My apologies for the mistake.)
  View Checks to Jewel Box Florist
• Payment of Bills report as posted in the November 18, 2014 board packet.
  View Bill Payments Report
• A bridges teacher separated from the district on November 7, 2014. (NOTE: This information was in the Late Materials at the October 2014 board meeting but was never updated in the Public October 2014 board meeting packet.)

Mr. Arbeitman Departing from Fox

Mr. Arbeitman has only been working for the Fox C-6 district for a little over a year. He officially started working for the district on July 1, 2013. However, he was invited to and attended the MarzanoGate Conference in June 2013 by former superintendent Dianne Critchlow prior to officially worked for the district.

Mr. Arbeitman will be getting a very sweet deal from the Fox C-6 taxpayers if the school board approves the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program list on page 329 of the board meeting packet. Acting superintendent Tim Crutchley is asking the school board to "Approve, as presented, participants in the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program." at the November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 school board meeting.

If the board approves the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program list, Mr. Arbeitman will receive a payment of $66,647.50 for leaving the district at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

11-18-2014 Staff Separations and Voluntary Separation Incentive Program Participant List from Board Packet

Would you approve this payment of $66,647.50 if you were on the Fox C-6 school board?

What are the requirements for being able to receive the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program?

UPDATED @ 7:45PM on 11/12/2014!

Russell Kinsaul of KMOV News Channel 4 sent me a text earlier today after reading this article. He wanted to do a news story about the large payout to Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman after working for Fox C-6 for only two years by the time he leaves in June 2015. Russell's news story is already online at KMOV.COM. It was explained to Mr. Kinsaul by Fox CFO John Brazeal that the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program was for anyone vested in the Public School Retirement System.

You can watch the KMOV News story using the link below:

KMOV 4 News Story on Andy Arbeitman's $66,747 Voluntary Separation Incentive Payout

Arbeitman's Desoto School District Settlement

Mr. Arbeitman received a $208,000 settlement from the Desoto School District in 2012 after being put on paid leave in May 2012 and eventually resigning from the district.

You can read more about Mr. Arbeitman's departure from the Desoto School District and his subsequent hire at Fox in the following March 2013 news story:

De Soto superintendent who got $208,000 settlement lands job with Fox district

New Chief Financial Officer Hired at Fox C-6

Fox C-6's Chief Financial Officer's recent and sudden departure from the school district has been kept pretty quiet. The district hired a new CFO at the May 20, 2014 school board meeting during Closed Session. There was no mention of a need for a new CFO or any mention of the departure of the current CFO in the board packets that were posted on the website ahead of the board meeting. Fox's CFO was not at the May school board workshop held on Wednesday May 14, 2014. However, information about his departure was included in the Staff Separations in the Late Materials given out to the school board members at Tuesday night's board meeting. The Late Materials information was not provided to the public at the board meeting.

The May 20, 2014 board meeting packet was updated on Wednesday May 21st. The updated included Mark McCutchen, Fox's now former CFO, in the Staff Separations report. The report shows that Mark McCutchen will be leaving the district as of June 30, 2014.

From what I understand, the new CFO at Fox is Affton School District's current Chief Financial Officer who is John Brazeal. John Brazeal is a former City of Arnold councilman and former city administrator.

I look forward to working with Mr. Brazeal on making more improvements to Fox's Bill Payments and Credit Card purchase reports. Fox posted the new formatted reports in the May 20, 2014 school board packets but they didn't provide much more information than the previous reports. You can download and view the updated May 20 school board packet from the link below. The new report simply duplicated the Vendor Name in both the Vendor Name and the Transaction Description columns for the check payments. I mentioned this during Public Comments at the May 20 school board meeting. I also discussed it after the meeting briefly with Assistant Superintendent Rizzi and Superintendent Critchlow.

On Monday of this week I emailed the Fox C-6 school board members a copy of Wentzville School District's Bill Payments report as an excellent example of a bill payments report that Fox could use as a model report for enhancing Fox's reports. The public should be kept better informed as to how the district is spending taxpayer dollars especially when the district is trying to cut costs. Currently, Fox is set to deficit spend $4.5 Million dollars next year. The recent school board workshop had the Board of Education asking the district to cut it's deficit spending to zero by 2017.

Hopefully Fox will start publishing their credit card statements in the monthly school board packets like the Affton School District has been doing for years. Being full transparent is the only way for a school district to operate if they expect the community to trust them.

The Board of Education needs to realize and demonstrate that they understand that they represent the community and our concerns. It's their job to ensure that the Fox School District is nothing less than completely transparent. Sweeping things under the rug or hiding them from the public is not acceptable.

Fox's May 20, 2014 School Board Packet

View Wentzville's Bill Payments Report

Fox C-6 Superintendent Says: "We're Not Hiding Anything!"

Fox C-6 Superintendent says: "We're Not Hiding Anything!"

If so, then why didn't the school district include the Check Payment Listing/Bill Payments in the board meeting packets posted on the district website? The payments are included in the board packets sent to the school board members each month. Other school districts post their payments on their websites for the public to review. That is what transparency and open government is all about.

One would think that our school board would like to appear as transparent as possible given the recent negative exposure received by the school district and the fact that school board elections are less than 2 weeks away. Do they want the public thinking that they are trying to hide information from them? It certainly seems to be the case given how difficult it is to get an answer from them.

School Board Response
On Sunday night March 17, 2013, I received the following response from school board member Ruth Ann Newman to my email from Friday regarding the board packets. Mrs. Newman's response was as follows:

"As of now, we have decided not to post this information.  Thanks! 

--Ruth Ann"

From her response, I didn't know if she was speaking about the January board packet or the check payment listing or as she calls it the "itemized list of bills" that the board approves each month. So, I wrote back and asked for a clarification. On Monday March 18, 2013, I received the following response from Mrs. Newman:

"I was speaking of the itemized list of bills.  Right now, we felt like this was a privacy issue--not for the employees, but for the students.  Someone is checking to see what other districts are doing and why, or why not.  I don't know about the January Packet. We started with February because that's when the decision was made. 

--Ruth Ann"

PRIVACY ISSUE?
It seems strange that the school board "felt like this was privacy issue" and that was why they decided NOT to post the itemized list of bills on the district website. School board meeting minutes have been posted on the district website for years with student names. The board meeting packets include student names for contracts for each student that attends the Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students (PEGS) at the Lindbergh School District. Assistant Superintendent Tim Crutchley spoke about the PEGS program at the February 2013 BOE meeting. In order to qualify for the program he stated that the student must have an IQ of 150 or more to qualify. Fox pays Lindbergh $5700 for each student that attends the PEGS program. 5 students from Fox attended the program in the 2011-2012 school year. According to contracts in the board meeting packets, Mr. Crutchley has two children attending PEGS.

In the June 2011 board meeting packets, I found check payments that were issued for scholarships and special funds that were paid to individuals that appear to be students. However those students are listed and honored in the newspaper or in the semi-annual district newsletter. So, again that doesn't seem as if it would be a privacy issue. Some of the descriptions for those payments were: "FOX FOLLIES SCHOLARSHIP" and "SPECIAL FUND FHS".

NO RESPONSE FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD
On Tuesday morning March 19, 2013, I responded to Mrs. Newman's second email with some questions concerning the response I received from her the day before. I sent my response with questions to all of the board members including the school board secretary. As of Friday morning March 22, 2013, I still had not received a single response from any of the board member or the school board secretary. With the upcoming elections, you would think that our school board would want to appear to be responsive to questions hoping to get the incumbents re-elected. Should the school board respond to these types of questions? Since the decision to post board packets was recently made by the school board, it should have been documented in the school board minutes but it was not. It also should have been discussed during the open meeting but it was not.

Here are the questions I asked in my follow up email:

Was the decision to post the board meeting packets on the district website made at the February 19 BOE Meeting? 

Why wasn't the decision to post board meeting packets listed as a business item for discussion in the February BOE meeting agenda? 

Why wasn’t the decision to post board meeting packets documented in the board meeting minutes? 

Why wasn't the decision to post board meeting packets discussed in an open meeting?

Email Your School Board Members

Email your school board members and request that the Bill Payments be included in the board meeting packets posted on the website. Other school districts post their payments online. It is part of doing business as a public entity and promotes Open Government and Public Participation. How your taxpayer dollars are being spent can only be known from reviewing the check payments in the board meeting packets. If our school board is unwilling to post this data, it gives the appearance that they are trying to hide something. School board members can say that they spend our money wisely in their campaign ads. Just like we are told that they hire the "best" person for the job. It is our responsibility as patrons of the district to verify that our board members are doing what they say they are. Are they looking out for the community or for themselves?

Fox C-6 Board of Education Email Addresses Page

You can download board meeting packets from April 2010 to December 2012 that include the check /bill payment listings that I received via Missouri Sunshine Law Requests here:
Fox C-6 Board Meeting Packets