Settlement Reached With Former D46 Business Manager

 officials said they are glad to be putting a controversy behind them after the school board’s acceptance of a settlement agreement with former business manager Edward Towle during their Jan. 4 meeting.

Towle had filed a breach of contract complaint against D46 in May after his $98,000 one-year contract was rescinded by the district a year earlier. The district hired then fired Towle after learning he failed to disclose he was on administrative leave from his former position with the Brown Deer School District near Milwaukee.

D46 Superintendent Ellen Correll admitted she did not do a site visit of Towle’s former employer because of the distance and travel costs involved. Had Correll visited the district, she would have learned of Towle’s circumstances before his hiring. In the future, Correll told Patch site visits will be a must, whatever the expense or time.

As for using Web-based search engines like Google to find background information on potential new hires, Correll said attorneys advised her it was not a trustworthy source upon which to rely.

Correll said the district could not disclose the terms of the settlement, which was overseen by a magistrate judge.

“We are glad to put this behind us and concentrate on the business of the school district,” said board President Ray Millington.

Towle could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Robert Shumaker, confirmed that "the parties reached an agreement to settle on mutually agreeable terms."

The school board approved the settlement 5-0. Sue Facklam abstained, citing she arrived late to the meeting and missed some of the closed session discussion of the matter.

Keith Surroz did not vote at all. He stepped out of the meeting briefly, so the vote was taken in his absence. Surroz said it was not intentional, but had he been present, he also would have abstained from voting for being late to the meeting.

NO DISCLOSURE

Towle, who was hired by D46 in April 2010, had not disclosed any issues with his former employer during the interview process. In fact, Brown Deer Superintendent Deb Kerr gave Towle a letter of recommendation despite his being on paid administrative leave for nearly a year and a half. Towle was placed on this leave in February 2009 after Brown Deer learned district accounts had been overdrawn by about a half-million dollars.

Once this information was confirmed by D46, the board rescinded Towle’s contract about a month after he was hired. Prior to ending his contract, however, Correll encouraged Towle in an email to resign for his own good because she feared his name and reputation would be so tarnished in the media that he would not be able to find a new job.

Towle’s lawsuit alleged Correll’s desire to avoid negative publicity was the basis for that suggestion.

The complaint sought restitution of lost salary and benefits, as well as damages resulting from Towle’s inability to find other employment.

The lawsuit also stated that Towle tried to rectify the situation with D46, including setting up a meeting to discuss the matter further and offering to assist the district with issues it might have encountered from not having an experienced business manager on board for the past year.

Towle, who still has a lawsuit pending with Brown Deer over breach of contract, had been hired to replace outgoing business manager Brad Goldstein. After Towle’s contract was rescinded, the position was filled by David Tylavsky, who resigned eight months into the job for unknown reasons.

Tylavsky then was replaced by Todd Covault, who resigned two months later to accept a similar position in another district. Retired business manager Victor Berner was brought in as the interim business manager.

Anna Kasprzyk, who had worked three years as a D46 finance coordinator, then was hired as the business manager.