Proviso Township H.S. District superintendent gets demand letter to pay back bills he incurred at old job in Mississippi

FOREST PARK, Unwell. (CBS) — A west suburban college superintendent might quickly must pay up for a giant invoice he racked up at his outdated job in Mississippi.

On that invoice of Proviso Township Excessive College District 209 Supt. Dr. James Henderson’s are a $4,000 celebration and a $12,000 credit score cost.

As CBS 2’s Marissa Perlman reported Thursday night time, Henderson has had a rocky begin at Proviso District 209 – and now’s now being requested to pay again greater than $90,000 to his outdated district. The Mississippi district says Henderson shouldn’t have spent the cash within the first place.

However the query now’s, why was his contract simply renewed at Proviso once more for 5 years?

An auditor out of Jackson, Mississippi is demanding money to cowl alleged improper spending by Henderson, who got here to Proviso Township in August 2020 from Holmes County, Mississippi – one of many poorest components of that state.

The audit from December 2020 says taxpayers in Holmes County, Mississippi footed the invoice for the next:

• An occasion described as “adults solely” and BYOB costing $4,200.

• An additional $10,000 to his wage.

• $14,000 in funds made to corporations owned by Henderson’s kin;

• A bank card used with out authorization onto which $12,000 have been charged.

The Mississippi state auditor is coming to gather that money – calling for Henderson to pay nearly $91,000 in mismanaged cash. Supt. Henderson was issued a requirement letter Thursday.

Sources say Proviso’s college board was conscious of the audit for years. However final month, the varsity board nonetheless voted to resume the superintendent’s contract for 5 years.

Now, his new contract exhibits that by 2026, he might be making $289,821 a yr.

At a June 14 assembly, Proviso Township District 209 Board Assembly Theresa Kelly stated: “We now have had not had any issues with Dr. Henderson, so I feel that we have to maintain him. He has a plan for teachers. He can transfer teachers ahead.”

Sources near the varsity board say they fear the superintendent’s spending historical past will repeat itself right here. They level to points already with the superintendent – together with a three-week-long academics’ strike and a public spat with one other college board member.

We’re informed the board was conscious of the Mississippi audit in December 2020, however did not discover out in regards to the demand letter till Thursday.

We reached out to the superintendent by way of cellphone and electronic mail, on a public quantity on which he says he’s accessible each night time. However we’ve got not heard again.