NEW MILFORD — After the New Milford school district discovered it overpaid a middle school principal over $14,000 during her switch to a different position, she will repay the amount with about a month's worth of her accrued sick time, according to a district memo.
Linda Scoralick, who has worked for the New Milford Public Schools since 2007, became principal of Schaghticoke Middle School in July 2022. Before that appointment, she had been the middle school’s interim principal since November 2021. She had also worked previously as assistant principal at New Milford High School.
As interim principal, Scoralick was “inadvertently overpaid $14,132.57 by the district due to a payroll error stemming from the manner in which annual salaries are paid relative to days worked at the commencement of the work year,” according to a recent memorandum of understanding among Scoralick, the New Milford Board of Education and the New Milford School Administrators Association, the union for administrators.
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The overpayment occurred from October 2021 to June 2022 when Scoralick switched from assistant principal of New Milford High School to interim principal of Schaghticoke Middle School, Superintendent Janet Parlato said.
The error was discovered through an internal review of the district’s files in late 2024, Parlato said.
As principal of Schaghticoke, Scoralick is paid an annual salary of $169,354, with a 2025-26 per-diem rate of $651.36 based on her current salary and her 260-day work year, according to the MOU. As of July 15, Scoralick had accrued a sick leave balance of 221 days, the MOU stated.
The Board of Education approved the MOU at its July 15 meeting, agreeing to deduct 21 days from Scoralick’s accrued sick leave balance. In making this agreement, Parlato later said, "there was quick agreement among all parties."
The motion passed with a majority vote by the board. Leslie Sarich, the board's chair, said she planned to vote "no" because "I do not think it's the individual's fault."
Each day deducted from Scoralick’s sick leave balance has a value of $651.36 to correspond with her per-diem rate, the district said.
The school board stated in the MOU that it “makes no representations or warranties regarding the tax consequences of the overpayment, this memorandum or any related issues involved in remedying the overpayment or properly reporting Scoralick’s annual salaries to any taxing or other governmental authority such as the Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board.”
Also, the school board stated its intent to “satisfy its obligations” to report the overpayment to the Teachers’ Retirement Board and “appropriate taxing authority,” according to the MOU. Scoralcik was advised to consult with an accountant or other tax professional regarding the tax consequences, the school board said.
The district has since added revised procedures “for when an employee switches positions and pay grades to ensure this type of error does not occur again,” Parlato said.
“While this clerical error took place four years ago, we made the correction with full transparency toward the employee and in communication with the Board of Education,” she said. “An important part of my work since arriving has been to create and improve processes and systems throughout the district."