A nearly year-long investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office into allegations of mismanagement in the Medicaid Administrative Match program at the Centralia School District could finish sometime in July, according to the attorney for the school board.
Cliff Foster, of Seattle law firm Porter Foster Rorick LLP, represents the Centralia School District Board of Directors in legal matters. He and the district have been working with the Attorney General’s office, which is representing the Washington State Health Care Authority, in the investigation.
The exact details of the investigation are unclear as it is still ongoing. But Foster said Thursday the district has provided everything the Attorney General’s office has requested in a timely fashion and continues to do so.
“The district’s stance is that we are fully cooperating with the investigation,” Foster said.
Allegations surfaced in mid-2013 that the school district was mismanaging the Medicaid Administrative Match program. The program allows schools to be reimbursed for time they spend educating students and families on — and referring them to — services they could use under the Medicaid program.
As reported in The Chronicle in July 2013, and substantiated by data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Centralia Middle School received $138 per student from the Medicaid Administrative Match program in the 2011-12 school year. Centralia High School, by contrast, received only $19 per student. Rates varied among elementary schools, with Fords Prairie receiving about $20 more per student than Edison.
Exact details into the investigation are known only to a select few, including the Centralia School District Board of Directors, Foster — who represents them legally — and anyone who may have been interviewed as part of building a case in the situation.
It’s not even clear as to when the investigation began. The Attorney General’s office has not divulged any details when contacted by The Chronicle, only saying the investigation is still open at the present time.
The Centralia School Board has met with legal counsel in executive session March 12, April 1 and May 31. Those details have not yet been made public, and no action has been taken stemming from those meetings in public session.
The Chronicle submitted a wide-ranging public records request to the Centralia School District last week that included a request to see correspondence from administrators and school board members regarding the investigation, as well as the details of each board executive session meeting with legal counsel. The district has stated they will respond to that portion of the request June 27.
Foster was guarded in what he told The Chronicle Thursday due to the ongoing case, but did say once the investigation closes he and the district want to be as transparent and open as possible about the situation.
“We just can’t get ahead of the process right now,” Foster said.
As far as discipline goes, it’s too early to tell what could happen if any wrongdoing is found. If an order was handed down from the Attorney General’s office, it would likely only have to do with the money at hand. The district, if found to have mismanaged the program, could be ordered to pay money back to the Health Care Authority.
If personnel would need to be disciplined, that would be handled by the district superintendent. That duty would fall to Steve Warren, recently selected by the school board to fill a one-year interim position. As for the superintendent, the school board serves as the direct supervisor of that position.
In just this calendar year alone, five administrators in the district have announced their departures from the Centralia School District — most notably current Superintendent Steve Bodnar. Centralia High School Principal Tom Boehme, Edison Elementary Principal Nate Grygorcewicz, Jefferson Lincoln Elementary Principal Glenn Spinnie and district Director of Teaching and Learning Scott Niemann all tendered their resignations for June 30.
Four of the five who have resigned have accepted positions with other school districts. Boehme announced he would pursue other opportunities outside of education.
The departures have served to put the Centralia School Board in overdrive, with the board participating in interviews and committees to search for their replacements — in addition to having spent time over the past few months discussing the investigation currently at hand in executive session.
Any and all orders given as a result of the investigation would need to be voted on and agreed on in public session by members of the school board. Foster reiterated the need for transparency on the issue, as did school board president Kim Ashmore, who requested specific questions on the investigation be answered by Foster.
“We want the public to know what’s going on,” Ashmore said. “When we’re able to, we’ll let everyone know.”
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
