Proviso Township H.S. District superintendent gets demand letter to pay back bills he incurred at old job in Mississippi
FOREST PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A west suburban school superintendent may soon have to pay up for a big bill he racked up at his old job in Mississippi.
On that bill of Proviso Township High School District 209 Supt. Dr. James Henderson's are a $4,000 party and a $12,000 credit charge.
As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported Thursday night, Henderson has had a rocky start at Proviso District 209 – and now is now being asked to pay back more than $90,000 to his old district. The Mississippi district says Henderson should not have spent the money in the first place.
But the question now is, why was his contract just renewed at Proviso again for five years?
An auditor out of Jackson, Mississippi is demanding cash to cover alleged improper spending by Henderson, who came to Proviso Township in August 2020 from Holmes County, Mississippi – one of the poorest parts of that state.
The audit from December 2020 says taxpayers in Holmes County, Mississippi footed the bill for the following:
• An event described as "adults only" and BYOB costing $4,200.
• An extra $10,000 to his salary.
• $14,000 in payments made to companies owned by Henderson's relatives;
• A credit card used without authorization onto which $12,000 were charged.
The Mississippi state auditor is coming to collect that cash – calling for Henderson to pay almost $91,000 in mismanaged money. Supt. Henderson was issued a demand letter Thursday.
Sources say Proviso's school board was aware of the audit for years. But last month, the school board still voted to renew the superintendent's contract for five years.
Now, his new contract shows that by 2026, he will be making $289,821 a year.
At a June 14 meeting, Proviso Township District 209 Board Meeting Theresa Kelly said: "We have had not had any problems with Dr. Henderson, so I think that we need to keep him. He has a plan for academics. He can move academics forward."
Sources close to the school board say they worry the superintendent's spending history will repeat itself here. They point to issues already with the superintendent – including a three-week-long teachers' strike and a public spat with another school board member.
We are told the board was aware of the Mississippi audit in December 2020, but didn't find out about the demand letter until Thursday.
We reached out to the superintendent via phone and email, on a public number on which he says he is available every night. But we have not heard back.