TISD Releases Documents Relating To Superintendent’s Resignation, Pay

The superintendent of the Tornillo Independent School Discript provided clarification and new information Monday regarding his resignation’s terms and compensation.

Superintendent Paul Vranish is facing two investigations for allegedly mishandling district funds for personal gain. He denies the allegations but recently resigned during a Jan. 31 after the TISD’s board neglected to extend his contract.

As ABC-7 exclusively reported, some TISD school board members have since come forward with concerns about the validity of Vranish’s resignation and the compensation that followed.

Vranish declined an interview and did not directly answered questions, but sent documents that applied to some of the questions and explained their content over the phone.

Board members Javier Escalante and Hector Lopez had said they were not sure Vranish’s resignation is valid because of the way it was presented. In a video of the Jan. 31 school board meeting where his resignation was on the agenda, Vranish is seen pulling out a letter and passing it only to the school board president and secretary for approval. None of the other board members were shown the letter during the meeting and the resignation was never voted on.

According to the resignation letter, Vranish’s last day would be June 28, 2013.

Vranish declined to comment why he did not share the resignation letter with the rest of the board, but pointed to a policy and a clause in his contract that indicate a voluntary resignation must be accepted by the board provided it is presented within about a month and a half in anticipation.

A caveat in that clause states the board can place Vranish on paid administrative leave until his last day on the job.

The next set of concerns had to do with how much Vranish has been compensated following his resignation. Some board members wanted to know why he had already received some money even though he is set to stay on as superintendent until next June.

Since last week, ABC-7 asked several different sources when Vranish was paid for his resignation and how much money he was paid. ABC-7 did not get any straight answers until Monday when Vranish sent a payroll earnings register dated Feb. 2, 2012.

That document indicates the district paid more than $276,000 to Vranish of which he kept more than $176,000 after taxes.

The lump sum comes from a clause in Vranish’s contract that states the district must pay him two years’ worth of his annual salary within 15 business days from the date he tenders his written resignation.

TISD, which is only made up of 4 schools and less than 1,500 students, stands to lose a lot more money. Clauses in Vranish’s contract call for a pay out of unused, earned vacation days and a possible agreement in which Vranish’s wife, who is also a district employee, would be placed on paid administrative leave.

Vranish also alluded to a potential state aid penalty worth tens of thousands of dollars, which ABC-7 is still working on learning more about.

The next school TISD board meeting is set for March. 29, according to Lopez.

The preliminary results of the TEA audit found found Vranish and his wife, Marla Vranish, may have used their positions with the school district to benefit financially, including using district funds to pay for his travel, cell phones and even repairs to his snowmobile.

Paul Vranish has until March 27 to respond to the preliminary report.

“I’m dealing with taxpayers’ money and I certainly should be checked on,” Paul Vranish told ABC-7 in September. He said he must always turn in receipts from district purchases before he gets reimbursed by the district and said records are posted online.

The TEA report states Vranish and his wife were reimbursed $117,394 in fiscal year 2011 by the district for purchases they claim were district-related.

The TEA is requiring Tornillo to hire a forensic auditor to perform an audit on reimbursements to the superintendent and his wife for fiscal years 2006 through 2011.

The school board must also ensure that Paul Vranish reimburses the district for all questionable costs. Another order from the TEA is that the district should stop Paul Vranish from using his personal credit card for district business.

“Because the superintendent is charged with protecting the district’s assets and using them for the benefit of the district’s students, but instead used them in a reckless manner, he may be in violation of the Texas Penal Code,” the report states.

Paul Vranish’s contract states he is paid $116,750 annually. His new contract started in July. He has been Tornillo’s superintendent since 2002.

Paul Vranish’s Bio Superintendent of Tornillo ISD since June 2, 2002 Five additional years of Superintendent experience in Buffalo and Lone Oak, Texas Three years? experience serving as High School Principal and one year as Assistant Superintendent/HS Principal for Mathis, Texas Served five years as an Assistant Principal at the High School in Alvin, Texas Taught Marketing Education for six years in Huffman, Texas; one year at the West Central Vocational Cooperative in Madison, Minnesota; and two years in Apple Valley Minnesota Texas Association of School Boards Superintendent of the Year for Region 19; 2007 and 2009 Texas Education Agency / Communities in Schools Superintendent of the Year; 2007