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Union wonders about Eagle Point cuts A federal-state probe into Medicaid paperwork could cost the schools $1 million By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune EAGLE POINT - Teachers union officials say recent budget cuts may have been driven in part by a pending Medicaid settlement that could cost the school district about $1 million. "Are they (the district) stockpiling money by eliminating jobs to pay the fine?" questioned Jody Streetman, president of the Eagle Point Education Association. "We don't know that. We don't know if that's what's happening." School board director Fred Thomas denied that the district's budget cuts are a result of an upcoming Medicaid settlement or that the district is stockpiling money. "To my knowledge, there is nothing in the current budget cuts that have anything to do with Medicaid," he said. "Any cuts that we are making are the result of what's going on in Salem." The Eagle Point School District has been under investigation for three years by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Office of Inspector General and the Oregon Department of Justice because of irregularities in past Medicaid claims. Records compiled by the district from 1994 to 2000 - which predates the current superintendent and other administrators - are being checked to make sure they were completed correctly. Similar investigations of other school districts throughout the United States are also under way. Thomas said the district's problems are the result of Medicaid claims that apparently weren't completed to the government's satisfaction. "There was not enough documentation to support the billing they did," he said. As a result, the government now wants the money returned from those claims. Thomas said neither the exact dollar amount nor details of the settlement have been agreed upon yet. "We're working to get the least amount of impact as possible for the district," he said. Streetman said teachers and community members worry about the fiscal impacts a settlement would have on the district, particularly after $1.3 million was carved out of next fiscal year's budget. The district also cut $1 million last year. Streetman said rumors have circulated that the amount is more than $1 million, but the district hasn't released exact damages yet. A recent issue of the publication The Nickel ran an advertisement from the so-called "Eagle Point School District Sunshine Committee" indicating the district could owe $5 million in Medicaid penalties. The advertisement surprised both district officials and Streetman, who disputed the dollar amount. However, Streetman said if Eagle Point ends up owing around $1 million, "That would be disastrous for School District 9." Katherine Leppek, who is on the teachers union executive council, said somebody needs to be held responsible for the district's situation. "We hold accountable the person who is in charge of our school district," she said. If that person is not responsible, then the previous administration should be held accountable, she said. "Whatever it's going to take to straighten this out," said Leppek. To air this and other concerns about the state of the school district, an open forum sponsored by the teachers' union and the district will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Eagle Point High School. "We have never been told anything clearly and this will give the public its chance," said Leppek. School district attorney Joyce Bernheim of the Portland firm Miller Nash LLP said federal rules prevent her or other parties from discussing specifics of the case. She did say that "the demands that are being made from the government are substantial." With rumors circulating that the government and district are close to a resolution, Bernheim would only say, "We're in active discussions. We'd like to get this resolved as quickly as possible." At this point in the dispute, Bernheim said, "There is disagreement about what the facts are and about the legal significance of the facts." In other Medicaid disputes around the country, she said the government has sometimes set up payment schedules to allow repayment of claims, but the government has also pressured municipalities to make a single payment. Elleyn Sternfield, director of the Medicaid Fraud Unit for the Oregon Department of Justice, said she could not comment on any cases that might be pending. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.