RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina appeals court agrees the state’s pension fund must cover large pension spikes for four retired school superintendents because an agency failed to go through regulatory hoops before local taxpayers could foot the bills.
A three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously upheld lower court decisions favoring Cabarrus, Johnston, Wilkes and Union county school boards.
A 2014 law said local governments would pay when high-earning public officials converted salary perks as they ended their careers to boost future pension amounts. Lump-sum payments to cover the four employees had totaled $1.7 million.
Court of Appeals Chief Judge Linda McGee wrote the formula determining the extra payments didn’t go through the state’s rule-making process.
There’s no guarantee the state Supreme Court will take up any appeal.
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