Paying his due
McCartney gives V’ville $40K



VOORHEESVILLE – After more than a year of litigation between retired Superintendent Alan McCartney and the Voorheesville School District, a settlement has been reached, and McCartney has paid the district $40,000.

The settlement was reached on December 18 and was agreed upon between the two parties, but was not official until a stipulation of discontinuance was filed; it was received by the Albany County Clerk on March 22.
The school board, at its April 2 meeting, announced that a settlement that was "not to be disclosed in public" had been reached with McCartney. The Enterprise received a copy of the document after filing a Freedom of Information Law request last week.
"The board felt it was in the best interest of the taxpayers to accept a settlement," said school-board President David Gibson this week.

In January of 2006 the state comptroller’s office announced that an audit of the Voorheesville School District found that McCartney and former Assistant Superintendent for Business Anthony Marturano had inappropriately paid themselves $216,000. The school district filed civil suits against the two men to try and recoup the money. The case against Marturano is still pending.

Marturano told The Enterprise this week that he is "fighting it."
That was an "incompetent piece of work by the comptroller’s office," said Stephen Coffey, McCartney’s attorney. "He didn’t steal anything," Coffey said this week of his client.
An investigation by Albany County District Attorney David Soares’s office found no basis for criminal charges. Soares cited the school district’s "weak internal controls" were to blame.

A second audit was released by the office of the state comptroller in November and said that McCartney had charged nearly $12,000 in personal expenses to the district. Marturano was not implicated of any wrongdoing in the second audit.

In a memorandum from Superintendent Linda Langevin to the school board in August, she outlined the legal fees the district had accrued to that point – the figure was nearly $102,000. Langevin said last week that it seemed unlikely the school district’s legal fees will be covered by insurance.
Langevin said this week that, "the legal fees were well invested.
"We needed to do what we did in order to handle the matter as best we could," Langevin said.
Following the second audit, the District Attorney’s office said it was reviewing the case. Coffey said Wednesday that, "The matter is not under review by the District Attorney’s office, no criminal charges are being contemplated, and as far as prosecutorial authorities are concerned, this case is now over."
That is entirely true for the findings of the first audit, said Heather Orth, spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office. But, in regards to the second audit, "no determination has been made either way," she said. The case, Orth said, "could be considered open."
"That is absurd," Coffey said of the District Attorney’s assertion that the case is still open. "The fact of the matter is, there is no criminal conduct."

Coffey also told The Enterprise on Wednesday that Gibson’s declaration at last week’s meeting that McCartney had counter-sued the district was "incorrect."
McCartney "interposed a defense to the complaint and that was the extent of his involvement."

Gibson told The Enterprise that he had misspoken. "I made a mistake. His attorney is correct."
Coffey said that it was "particularly irresponsible" for Gibson to have "commented incorrectly."

"Past is the past"
"I’m satisfied with the settlement," said school-board Vice President C. James Coffin. "A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this."
The agreement states that both parties "knowingly and voluntarily release and forever discharge each other, of and from any and all actions or causes of action, suits, claims, charges, complaints, and promises whatsoever, in law or equity, which they may now have or hereafter can, shall or may have against each other from the beginning of time until the date of this release."
"Any time you reach a settlement, everyone is giving a little bit," Coffey told The Enterprise. "It’s a settlement, he’s content with it," he added on McCartney’s behalf.

McCartney told The Enterprise last week that he "really would rather just get past it."
"He’s been horribly affected," Coffey said of McCartney. "He was extremely upset of the allegations of criminal conduct."

McCartney did not return multiple calls from The Enterprise this week.
The $40,000 settlement, Langevin said, is "a fair estimate" I feel satisfied."
Coffin said that he is glad the whole thing can be put behind them. "It’s closure" We can move on."
The board did "everything humanly possible," Coffin said.
"It’s important that the board handled this in a manner that respected all of us" And I think they did a great job," Langevin said.

Gibson told The Enterprise that although it is good to move on, "We don’t intend to forget it. We don’t want to forget the learning."
The issue is not about feelings, Gibson said, "It’s not about whether we are angry or upset" It’s about the best interest of the people we serve – the students and the community."
"The past is the past," Langevin said. The process was "very painful" for the community and the district, she said. "I feel saddened it happened at all."
"The parties have settled their differences and, you move on," said Coffey.

Moving forward

The district’s internal controls needed to be updated, Langevin told The Enterprise this week. "We’ve tightened up everything in this office very much."

She explained that she signs off on all expenditures, and anything that she may have questions on she gives to the district’s internal auditor to review. The position was one that was created in light of the comptroller’s audit.
"We’re tracked constantly on what we’re doing," Langevin went on. "That’s a good feeling" It’s very beneficial to the district, it’s a sense of security.
"We have done everything that needed to be done to ensure that this will never again happen in Voorheesville," she told The Enterprise.
Gibson agreed that the internal controls within the district "were not what they should have been." Substantial changes have been made, he said.
Coffin, who has served on the board for many years, said that he thought the internal controls were good before the audit; now, he said, "they are the best of the best."
Even the best-laid plans are sometimes not adequate, he said. "The internal controls we’ve put in place are as long as my arm."
"I believe we are a very trustworthy entity at this point," Langevin said.
Gibson said that the comptroller’s office "has given guidance to us all" I think we’re better off than we were before."
Langevin said that one thing she has learned is that people really care about the district. "The community and the employees really believe in Voorheesville."