Schools
Former Superintendent Sue for Wrongful Termination
ICYMI: Anthony Bivona was fired in 2014 after an audit found the district had overspent the Brookfield Public Schools' budget by $1.2M.
Editor’s note: This article was published earlier this week, but here it is again in case you missed it.
Brookfield’s former superintendent Anthony Bivona has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination from the school after he was found to have overspent the school’s funds by $1.2 million, according to NBC CT News.
The 62-year-old Bivona was suspended with pay after an audit showed the district was using questionable accounting practices in their annual budgets.
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The termination came after a three hour hearing where six members of the BOE voted unanimously to terminate Bivona’s contract. The termination ends his seven year long career with Brookfield Public Schools. He will not receive any severance pay.
According to the News Times, Bivona’s defense was based upon blaming the former business manager, Art Colley, for ”improper accounting and financial management practices he did not disclose.”
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The board found that Bivona should be held accountable for all of his administrative staff which includes the improper supervision of former Finance Director Art Colley who resigned last February. Colley is facing larceny and forgery charges.
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 18 and alleges that the town did not approve Colley’s monthly budgets until a new accounting firm took over the town’s yearly audits in October of 2013.
Colley resigned in February 2014 after accusations that he overspent the district budget by $1.2 million. He was arrested In March 2014 on a felony larceny charge after he was accused of reimbursing himself for three iPads he didn’t purchase.
First Selectman Bill Tinsley told Patch that ”the Board of Ed made the right decision to fire Tony Bivona. The superintendent of schools has to be held accountable.”
Tinsley also stated that the town and the schools are working towards having one transparent accounting system, Munis Systems, to avoid something like this happening again.
Related:
Former Brookfield School Finance Director Faces Larceny and Forgery Charges
Brookfield Board of Education Fires Superintendent
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