Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced the release of an audit that questions why the Lehighton Area School District paid its superintendent to stay home with no official duties while it paid a consultant to run the district's day-to-day operations.

Auditors found that the arrangement to pay two people for the same position cost taxpayers $46,490 -- $29,840 to the former superintendent and $16,650 to the consultant."It appears the school district paid the former superintendent (James A. Kraky) to stay home while it paid someone else to do the day-to-day work," DePasquale said. "This change in leadership should have been implemented in a way that didn't potentially take any money away from classroom education."Lehighton Area School District allowed the former superintendent to work at home with unclear duties as he used his vacation and personal days after he retired in March 2012. The former superintendent remained a district employee with full benefits until June 30, 2012, though he had no dealings with daily operations, attended no meetings involving school personnel and was not involved in on-going contract negotiations. The district paid the consultant $450 per day, plus $30 for mileage per day until July 1, 2012 when the consultant became the acting superintendent.DePasquale said the arrangement may have violated Public School Employees' Retirement System regulations because it appears the former superintendent was a part-time employee, not full-time. However, the district continued to report his wages to PSERS as though he was still a full-time employee. PSERS should review the issue to determine whether the $29,840 was ineligible for inclusion in the former superintendent's pension calculation, he said.In the audit report, school officials note that the former superintendent fulfilled his duties as required by state law and was accessible to the district via phone or email as he used his accrued vacation and personal leave days.The district had no other audit findings for the review period, Jan. 29, 2010 to March 5, 2013.The Lehighton Area School District had 2,480 students, 194 teachers, 126 full-time and part-time support personnel and 15 administrators in the 2011-12 school year when it received $13 million in state funding.Kraky, of 7172 Herber Road, New Tripoli, meanwhile, has filed the action in Carbon County claiming that the district underpaid him for sick days he was due and owed after employment with the district ended.The suit states on July 16, 2007, Kraky and the district board of education entered into a written agreement for him to serve as superintendent from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2012. The suit notes that Kraky's last work day was March 30, 2012, but he remained employed by the district with full benefits until June 20, 2012.