June 07--Lincoln-Way High School District 210 overcharged students for driver's education during the 2010-11 school year and will offer refunds, potentially costing the cash-strapped district thousands of dollars, officials acknowledged Monday.
This spring, Lincoln-Way refunded $377,411 to students in improperly collected driver's ed fees from the 2015-16 school year. The district failed to renew a state waiver that would have allowed the district to charge students more than $50 for driver's education, but kept charging $350 anyway, leading to the refunds.
The latest controversy revolves around the school district overcharging before its waiver was approved.
Lincoln-Way first applied for the waiver during the 2010-11 school year, and it was approved in January of 2011, district spokeswoman Taryn Atwell said.
But the district's waiver was not approved prior to the district collecting registration fees in the fall of 2010, and so the driver's education fees "should not have exceeded the approved $125 waiver during the fall semester," Atwell said.
District officials did not specify how much will have to be refunded, and Superintendent Scott Tingley did not immediately return a message Monday seeking comment.
The district said it will post an application and instructions for students seeking refunds on its website on July 1 -- the start of the next fiscal year.
The south suburban school district landed on the state's financial watch list in 2015, where it remains, after years of deficit spending. Lincoln-Way is in the midst of a deepening schism between some residents and officials over the district's financial practices and management over the past decade.
As a cost-saving measure, the school board voted in August to shutter Lincoln-Way North, open for less than a decade, at the end of this school year. Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite sued to prevent the school's closure, but a judge dismissed the lawsuit Monday.
A federal grand jury is also investigating several matters related to the district's finances and former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie, including a controversial dog training school, the Daily Southtown previously reported.
Wyllie has not been charged with any crime.
In March, Lincoln-Way parent Robin Gareiss said the driver's ed controversy "screams negligence or incompetence."
At the time, district officials called the matter an oversight and said it would not happen again.
On its Facebook page, Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite responded to the latest revelations.
"As those following (Lincoln-Way) continue to look into all of the finances, past and present, it becomes more clear that there were no checks and balances even with the simplest of tasks," the group said.
gpratt@tribpub.com
