Thursday’s announcement by the Centralia School Board was at the same time disappointing and relieving.
Since The Chronicle first reported on the investigation into the district’s apparent misuse of Medicaid Administrative Match money in June 2013, the school district and the Attorney General’s Office has been silent.
Requests for documents were met with delays, and school district leaders refused to discuss the issue even as the public demanded answers.
Such is often the case when it comes to potential litigation and an ongoing investigation led by the state.
The answers arrived like a locomotive Thursday, though. The school district must use its reserves to refund $372,000 to the Washington State Health Care Authority. According to today’s front page story, the settlement came “following allegations of improperly claiming reimbursable time through the Medicaid Administrative Match program at Centralia Middle School.”
It must be acknowledged that Centralia School Board member Neil Kirby — the former principal at Edison Elementary — brought the issue to the surface last year.
He was among the five board members to approve the settlement Thursday, though as part of the agreement, the district does not admit to the allegations. According to the agreement, the settlement was made “to avoid the delay, uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of protracted litigation of the above claims,” the agreement states.
It could have been much worse.
The Attorney General’s Office initially notified the district of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s intent to sue and offered to settle instead for a $1.65 million payment. Such a sum would have been devastating to Lewis County’s largest school district.
Letters released Thursday allege a lack of concern for the issue on behalf of district administrators, led by former Superintendent Steve Bodnar, who resigned from his post to take a position in Yelm in June.
According to one letter, the district “failed to seriously examine the issue” and exhibited a “surprising” lack of interest.
The letter notes that administrators met with former Chronicle reporter Amy Nile “in an effort to convince her that there were no problems with CSD claiming.”
It would be easy to immediately attach blame to Bodnar or other departed administrators, but we’ll wait for the results of his replacement’s own inquiry.
Interim Superintendent Steve Warren, a successful educator with a proven record of leadership, has indicated he will be the voice and face of the school district as it emerges from the fallout of the investigation.
“The Attorney General’s investigation is complete, but my own look into this has just begun,” Warren said.
We anxiously await the completion of the internal inquiry, and hope for improved transparency and aptitude in this new era for the Centralia School District.
