Former Carroll superintendent accuses district of keeping money meant for his retirement
Former Carroll superintendent David Faltys is suing the school district, alleging that his former employer breached a voluntary retirement agreement by failing to properly report compensation to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, meaning he is getting a lower benefit amount.
The lawsuit alleged that Carroll supplemented Faltys’ salary equal to the amount that he was paying in to the retirement system, but failed to report the reimbursement as creditable compensation.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 9 in Tarrant County District, court also accuses Faltys’ former employer of keeping the money returned to Carroll rather than correcting its report to the retirement system.
The school district did not respond to an emailed request seeking comment and Faltys’ attorney, Walter Taylor, did not respond to emailed questions.
The lawsuit did not specify how much money the school district allegedly kept. Faltys seeks seeks damages and attorney’s fees.
Faltys, who has a long career in education, became superintendent in 2006 until he announced his retirement in August of 2020. He retired Dec. 31 of that year, according to court documents.
The lawsuit stated that on Dec. 9, 2020, Faltys received a text message from the assistant superintendent over human resources who said that the issue over his projected retirement payout from the Teacher Retirement System was due to a decision TRS made.
“The Superintendent did not inform Faltys that the real reason was because Carroll ISD had breached the contract. The Superintendent represented to Faltys that ‘we are going to reach out to TRS to clarify for us on why they aren’t counting it.’ The Superintendent further represented to Faltys that ‘we’ll keep you informed if we get additional info from TRS,’” according to the lawsuit.
Faltys stated in court documents that in September of 2022, he learned that TRS had not made the decision. Faltys asked the school district to pay the money that was “unjustly” sent to TRS and to pay the additional amount in to the Teacher Retirement System to restore the full amount of his retirement benefits.
But the Carroll school district refused, according to the lawsuit. Faltys also requested to be on the school board meeting agenda, but the district also refused his request.
During his 15 years as superintendent, Faltys led three successful bond programs and led the district in building its finances and technology programs.