LAWRENCE COUNTY Ex-schools chief: District owes me

The lawsuit seeks more than $84,000.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A former New Castle Area Schools superintendent contends the district owes him more than $80,000.
Joseph A. Martin Jr. filed a lawsuit in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court asking to be paid for 190 vacation days he did not use during his 25-year tenure with the district.
Martin's attorney, Jonathan Solomon, said his client, who retired June 30, 2003, did receive payment for 20 days of unused vacation time for this year, but believes he is eligible for all the unused vacation time he had starting in 1978.
District policy
The school district contends its policy is to pay for only the unused vacation time in the year a person retires, Solomon said. But Martin is contesting that policy, based on a 1998 school board approval of an early-retirement package for administrators.
The document approved by school board members states that a retiree shall be paid for all accumulated and unused vacation days.
Schools Solicitor Charles Sapienza could not be reached.
Martin, who was earning $444.23 a day when he retired, contends the district owes him $84,403.70. The lawsuit states that the money is payable over a five-year period.