Ingram, who has yet to buy a house, says he's spent the money on other living expenses and does not intend to repay the city.
Alan Ingram, Springfield Superintendent of SchoolsSPRINGFIELD – A little-known, $30,000 signing bonus in 2008 for school superintendent Alan J. Ingram to make a down payment on a mortgage is now sending ripples of discontent into city government.
Ingram, who has yet to buy a house, says he’s spent the money on other living expenses and does not intend to repay the city. He lives in an apartment in the city’s South End neighborhood.
The agreement and the one-time payment, designed to account for the real estate “market differential” between Oklahoma City, Ingram’s former home, and Springfield, is not necessarily unusual in hiring negotiations, according to a lawyer for the School Department.
The deal was sealed in a 2008 “side letter” between former Finance Control Board Executive Director Stephen P. Lisauskas and Ingram. School Committee member, mayoral hopeful and frequent dissident Antonette E. Pepe is raising questions and suggesting the superintendent should repay the money since it was not used for the original purpose in the agreement.
The letter states that the $30,000 is “to compensate for the higher cost of real estate in Springfield” and “understanding that this payment may be required to assist you in making a down payment while potentially maintaining your current residence in Oklahoma City.” There is nothing in the letter that specifically refers to penalties or repaying the money should Ingram elect to spend the money on something other than a "down payment."
In a written statement funneled through Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s press aide this week, Ingram simply said he has used the money to cover living expenses.
“I reside in Springfield, and, although I have not purchased a home yet, I do have residential living expenses and have elected to use this particular resource for that purpose which is not inconsistent with the language of the agreement nor the intent of the payment,” Ingram said. The superintendent initially declined to answer questions about the agreement.
Ingram said he believed the payment also could be used for general living expenses. He said he attempted to buy a house or condominium in Springfield when he first arrived, but provided no additional details about his search.
Ingram was hired in the spring of 2008 with a base salary of $190,000. His five-year contract included eight months of rental expenses (up to $2,000 per month), relocation costs, payment for work prior to July 1, 2008 and a monthly car stipend of $650, plus an $80-per-month parking spot near his Main Street office.
His salary rose to $202,000 in May when the School Committee voted 5-1 to boost his annual pay $12,000 through a hybrid of cost-of-living and performance-based raises. His costs for parking are still paid by the city, and he still receives a monthly car stipend.
Pepe voted against performance-based raises, arguing that the schools have not seen gains under
Alan Ingram Contract of Employment
Ingram. She also criticized Sarno for hanging the increases on contractual obligations.
“They laid off 78 paraprofessionals and some teachers, we haven’t hired any more counselors and classroom sizes are getting larger,” Pepe said. “There’s nothing in his contract that entitles him to performance raises, but the mayor keeps getting away with this bull crap.”
She will face Sarno and City Councilor Jose F. Tosado in the primary run-off for mayor on Sept. 20.
Sarno, who has been a strong supporter of Ingram, was mayor in 2008 and a de facto member of the Finance Control Board, the state-appointed panel brought in to drag the city out of financial dire straits in 2004.
The mayor, also in a written statement, said he recalled the control board taking a vote authorizing Lisauskas to negotiate relocation costs with Ingram. He said, however, that he had not seen the “side letter” promising the $30,000 payment until this week.
Sarno said he remains confident that Ingram has committed to Springfield, despite not having purchased a house nor moved his family to the city over the past three years.
“I believe that Dr. Ingram has firmly established roots here in the city. He is actively involved in the community and has demonstrated a commitment to the city’s school children,” Sarno’s statement read.
When he was hired, Ingram told The Republican in a March 2008 interview, “My family and I are very thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in Springfield.” He said at the time that his wife, Lisa, an elementary school teacher would seek work in Western Massachusetts. In February 2009, the superintendent told The Republican they were still working to sell their home in Oklahoma.
Tosado echoed Pepe’s call for Ingram to repay the $30,000, recalling that former superintendent Joseph Burke endured frequent public criticism for renting a home here and traveling back and forth to his home in Florida, where his wife remained and where he ultimately returned.
“Dr. Burke never got a free ride on this issue. (Ingram) should give the money back, and he should give it back now,” Tosado said.
Melinda Phelps, a lawyer for the School Department, said the department paid $1,000 to transport Ingram’s car from Oklahoma to the Pioneer Valley in 2008. The Finance Control Board, she added, paid an additional sum to a private moving company to ship a limited amount of personal belongings that year.
The relocation reimbursement clause expired in 2009, at which time it was extended to June 30, 2011, in another “side letter,” also signed by Ingram and Lisauskas. Phelps said she believes the city has fulfilled its obligation to Ingram, and the clause will not be extended again.
Phelps said there does not appear to be any language in the side-letter requiring Ingram to repay the money to the city because he did not buy a home.
Lisauskas could not be reached for comment. He left the city after the control board disbanded in 2009. He was later ordered by the state Ethics Commission to pay a $3,000 fine when it found he had violated conflict-of-interest laws by steering millions of dollars in city investments to a broker at Merrill Lynch with whom he had an undisclosed friendship. The city lost $13 million in 2007 before the firm agreed to reimburse the city under pressure from local and state officials.
June 30, 2008 Side Letter From Springfield Finance Control Board to Alan Ingram
June 25, 2009 Side Letter From Springfield Finance Control Board to Alan Ingram