Schools file charges in pay dispute

The driver was paid too much for a field trip.
By SARAH WEBER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The board of education is pressing charges against a former school bus driver for theft of about $7,000 he received as the result of a payroll error.
A warrant has been issued in Mahoning County Court here for the arrest of John Price, 45, of Canfield on a charge of grand theft. Police said Price had not yet been arrested as of Wednesday afternoon.
Board Treasurer Barbara Kliner said the error occurred in February 2003 but went unnoticed until December 2005. Detective Sgt. Raynor Holmes said Price was being investigated by the board for possible abuse of sick leave when Price asked to meet with him on Dec. 8. At that meeting, Price told him about the overpayment, he said.
"I think he thought it would help him keep his job somehow," Holmes said.
Holmes said he arranged a meeting between Price and schools Superintendent Doug Heuer where it was agreed that Price would resign and use his school retirement fund to reimburse the district.
After several months of failure to pay the reimbursement, the board decided in special session July 11 to file a theft complaint with police. Kliner filed the complaint Tuesday.
"It is unfortunate that we have to go through litigation," Heuer said.
The miscalculation
Kliner said the error was the result of human error and a computer miscalculation of pay for a field trip. Field trip pay, which is not part of bus drivers' regular salary, is manually entered into the payroll system. Kliner said Price should have received $107.61 for a one-day trip to take the girls gymnastics team to Canton. However, when the number was entered into the payroll program, Kliner said the $107.61 was not entered as a lump sum, but was instead mistakenly multiplied by Price's regular daily pay of $66.26. She said Price was paid $7,130.35 for the trip plus his regular pay of $474.02, making the direct deposit total of $7,604.37.
Kliner said that since the error was brought to her attention, she has taken measures to ensure that similar errors will not happen again.
"We're willing to step up and say we made a mistake," Kliner said. "We are taking measures to make it right."
Board attorney Eric Johnson said there was no civil action taken against Price but that a civil suit to recover the money is not off the table.
"Because Mr. Price expressed verbally and in writing his willingness to deal with the situation amicably, we did not think it was necessary to expend taxpayer money to pursue a civil case," Johnson said.
Johnson said it is possible that the board may get retribution as part of the criminal proceedings, but the case is now in the hands of the prosecutor.
Price and his attorney could not be reached to comment.