Board vote to decide settlement

The prosecutor said the thefts caused a wide variety of damages.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Officials are continuing to mop up loose ends from the purchasing scandal in the Salem schools.
The board of education switched its planned special meeting from today to 8 a.m. Saturday. The board will be meeting in executive session to vote on a proposed settlement reached Wednesday in the middle of a whistle-blower lawsuit that stemmed from the scandal.
Schools Superintendent Stephen Larcomb said Thursday the switch was made because of the schedules of board members.
Annette Howard of Salem, who works in the district's financial office, filed the lawsuit after she was sent home with pay but no work for months by former schools Superintendent David Brobeck, who hired a private investigator to follow her.
Howard said she brought to light improper spending by former district Treasurer Ted Cougras, who is serving a three-year prison sentence.
Authorities said there was never any evidence to suggest that Howard had been involved in any criminal wrongdoing.
Howard sought more than $50,000 in damages from the school board.
Larcomb said Thursday there would be no other action at the meeting.
It wasn't clear if any payment to Howard would come from insurance or the district's tight budget. Any details of the agreement that might be released won't come until the settlement is completed, Larcomb said.
Cougras is asking for early release, but Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron has filed a motion opposing the request.
Background
Cougras bought thousands of dollars in routine items at inflated prices from 2000 to 2002 in return for gift certificates. The prosecutor noted that Cougras was a public official at the time.
Herron said in his motion, "The economic losses suffered by the Salem City Schools were substantial and have had serious, long ranging, and in some respects incalculable effects, both financially and in the erosion of confidence by the public, who, as taxpayers, along with the students in the school system, and the many other school employees who were not involved in any criminal conduct, are the victims of the defendant's crimes."
Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge C. Ashley Pike, who handled Cougras' criminal case and Howard's lawsuit, is expected to make a ruling within a few days.
Larcomb, who replaced Brobeck, said he is rarely asked about the scandal. He said that may be because he is new to the area.
"I think we are on the road to brighter days," Larcomb said.
wilkinson@vindy.com