Fale’s retirement date revised

A recent letter from New York State informed District 24 that Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale’s retirement was invalid, prompting the Board of Education to hold a special meeting to correct the issue.

Late last year, Fale and the board reached an agreement that allowed him to retire on Dec. 31, begin collecting a state pension, and return to the district as superintendent at a lower salary. The move was designed to save District 24 more than $150,000 a year in salary and benefits.

Fale was retired on Jan. 1, and returned to the district on Jan. 2, or so he thought. In a letter from the state Teachers Retirement System, Fale learned that his break in service had to be a regular business day. It could not be a weekend or a legal holiday. “We didn’t know that,” he said, “and we made it New Year’s Day.”

He explained that district officials were unaware of this rule because information on the Retirement System’s website was inconsistent with its printed manual.

The district was ordered to correct this situation by Feb. 18 in order for Fale to retire without having to start the process all over again. On Feb. 10, the board held an emergency meeting to set new dates.

Fale retired at the end of the day on Feb. 12, and was not superintendent the following day. He returned to the post last Friday. Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato served as acting superintendent on Feb. 13.

Fale received his January pension payment, about $11,000, which he had to return to the New York State Retirement System. He also should have been paid for six weeks based on his past salary — $244,500 per year, instead of his new annual salary of $130,000. The district had to pay Fale the difference, about $9,500, losing out on that savings.

The other stipulations of his new contract will remain the same, including salary, vacation and sick time, and length. Fale’s deal runs through the end of the 2016-17 school year.