By: centraljersey.com
NEW HANOVER – The school district’s business administrator under investigation by the state Department of Education, Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance Investigations Unit, has resigned.
"The board received a notice of resignation with an effective date of Jan. 5," Superintendent Brian McBride said.
Deborah Paone was suspended with pay Sept. 13, but as of Dec. 16, the Board of Education certified tenure charges against her and subsequently put her on a status of 120 days without pay.
The Board of Education is working to correct deficiencies in its financial accounts following the investigation revealing that Ms. Paone was not performing the required duties of her position.
The board adopted a corrective action plan at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Currently, the district has an agreement with Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission (MOESC) and was provided with a business administrator, Kathleen Mandeville, the commission.
The district plans to keep the agreement in place until further decisions can be made as updates about the case come up. The services from MOESC are costing the district $60,000 but Mr. McBride said the district is receiving a cost-savings of about 50 percent by keeping the agreement in place.