Brevard Schools accidentally paid thousands too much in principal bonuses

Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins claims the district accidentally spent up to half a million dollars on bonuses for 40 principals and failed to report the error in a timely manner.

Jenkins made the allegation after several administrators contacted her around Sept. 13. They all expressed concern about the payout of $5,000 each in bonuses and believed it was an overpayment. Jenkins said that after the review, Superintendent Mark Rendell failed to communicate the error quickly and clearly and that the district overspent between $250,000 and $500,000.

The allegation, which was made public at Tuesday’s board meeting, was met with silence by Rendell and most other board members.

Only Katye Campbell responded briefly, saying it would be a good idea to review the supplements and “clean up some roles.”

A district spokesman confirmed after the meeting that there had been overpayments in the bonuses and that these were tied to the schools’ participation in a free breakfast and lunch program.

However, it is still unclear what exactly was communicated between September 13 and today or how long the issue has been going on, as there are emails from administrators that contradict the district’s comments.

Several school principals overpaid because of CEP, district says

Principals were paid a total of $200,000 in bonuses this year, according to BPS spokeswoman Janet Murgnaghan. However, it is not clear whether principals were inadvertently allocated additional funds in previous years – which several administrators mentioned.

Jenkins became aware of the overpayments around Sept. 13 after school administrators spoke with her, she said. That same day, she contacted Assistant Director of Human Resources Ryan Dufrain about the issue, who said the school district used the wrong calculation when awarding bonuses to principals of schools that offer free breakfast and lunch to their students, a program known as the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP.

“Many principals thought it was tied to Title I and it was a Title I payment,” Dufrain said in an email response to Jenkins. “We identified the principals who received it in the past and explained to them what they need to receive in the future.”

He added that 40 principals had been paid, but did not say how many years the district had overpaid them, despite Jenkins’ question.

Murnaghan said as of Tuesday, the district allowed principals to keep the additional funding they received this year.

“We believe that the school principals who have already received these grants should not be penalized and asked to repay the funds,” she said.

Since 2003, principals of schools where at least 75 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch have received an annual bonus of $5,000, Murnaghan said.

In 2021, CEP was introduced and used to calculate the number of free and reduced lunches because it helps capture students whose parents may not fill out the paperwork for them to receive free or reduced lunches.

As a result, more principals have received bonuses, Murnaghan said, adding that this will not happen again.

“We plan to address the issue in the future in such a way that the surcharge is paid in accordance with the original plan,” she said.

She added that board members were made aware of the overpayments in their one-on-one meetings with Rendell, which Jenkins did not attend.

Misunderstandings, confusion among the board members, in the district

Jenkins said during Tuesday’s board meeting that board members were unaware of the issue until she brought it up — which they all denied when she spoke, although none of them provided any further details about when they discovered the problem.

But Anthony Colucci, president of the Brevard Federation of Teachers, also said other board members seemed unaware of the problem or misinformed when he spoke with them around the same time Jenkins learned of the overpayments. Someone had told him their concerns about the overpayments, and when he called board members, he got mixed responses from them, he said.

“I called a board member, and that board member said, ‘I don’t know anything about this. I don’t know anything about this,'” Colucci said. “I called another board member who said, ‘No, yes, there was a payroll error, but they had to pay back that $5,000.'”

But other board members told a different story, Colucci said.

“I called the other two board members and both board members told me that the administrators did not have to pay the money back. Maybe the original plan was for them to pay it back, but then they did not have to pay it back,” he said.

“I heard through the grapevine that HR had started calling the principals and telling them they had to pay the money back, and then changed their minds.”

Board Chair Megan Wright and members Gene Trent, Matt Susin and Campbell did not respond to FLORIDA TODAY’s request for comment.

Frustration, fear of retaliation

Colucci said the school administration deserved the bonuses, but he is frustrated with the way the school district is handling the issue compared to past overpayments to teachers.

“As president of the teachers’ union, I am angry because every time a teacher has received too much, he has had to pay it back,” he said, adding that any overpayment discovered within a two-year period must always be repaid.

“You work with the teacher to create a payment plan.”

Now he feels that human resources is retaliating against him and the teachers he recently advocated for for raising concerns about overpayment of administrative staff.

Colucci told of a teacher who suffered a concussion after a student slammed a door into her head. She said she followed workers’ compensation rules but still did not receive benefits.

“If you get injured on duty, you’re entitled to up to 10 days’ compensation,” he said. “They’re denied pay. They’re denied pay for vacancies. They’re denied pay because someone had to leave because it was 30 degrees in the building. But the administration, oh yeah, you got $5,000, no big deal.”

Colucci believes this is the result of his investigations into overpayments to clients.

“Since last week, I have not been able to solve any of my problems because they are still digging in and fighting for everything,” he said.

“And I don’t think that’s a coincidence either.”

Finch Walker is an education reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at [email protected]. X: @_Subscribe.

Several school principals overpaid because of CEP, district says

Misunderstandings, confusion among the board members, in the district

Frustration, fear of retaliation

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