KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — We’ll call him Devan. He asked not to share his identity. But he wants to make sure other people who work for school districts keep an eye on every dollar.
Devan used to work for Kannapolis City Schools.
He told Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke that they took money out of his paychecks for retirement. He says the district was supposed to pass the money along to the state and make employer contributions as well, but didn’t do either.
“My first initial emotion was definitely panic and trying to figure out the correct person to contact to resolve that issue,” he said.
Devan says — and the schools agree — he was eventually out more than $8,000. He said he disputed it and stayed on top of it for roughly two years.
“They would tell me they were working on it,” he said. “And then the next time I would talk to them, it was like we were having the conversation all over again. My efforts were exhaustive and I honestly didn’t know who else to reach out to.”
He decided he needed help. That’s when he emailed Action 9. Stoogenke started by contacting the state treasurer’s office, which handles the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System. They emailed Kannapolis City Schools, made the “error,” and that — legally — the state can’t force the schools to “correct” it. Basically, Devan was out of the money unless the district covered the tab.
Action 9 contacted the schools. It replied that, after Action 9 got involved, the district received “additional information” and decided to pay the $8,000.
The system emailed, “Since the date of the email you received from [Devan], Kannapolis City Schools has received additional information related to this issue. Upon receiving that information, the district again engaged with the North Carolina Retirement Systems Division to review the details and ensure the appropriate corrective process is followed under state law. Throughout this process, we have worked to keep [Devan] informed of our progress and ongoing communication with the Retirement System. We understand that situations like this can be frustrating, and we strive to handle them with transparency, fairness, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We remain committed to accurate reporting and have taken steps to strengthen internal controls to help prevent similar issues in the future.”
They went on to say in another email, “After receiving additional information from the Retirement System... and reviewing that information this week, the district will be paying the invoice in full.”
“The emotional investment that I’ve put into this, the time that I’ve spent on this,” Devan said. “It is absolutely exhausting. It’s going to be a huge weight off my shoulders when this is taken care of.”
And good news for other Kannapolis school employees: the district says they’ve “taken steps to strengthen internal controls to help prevent similar issues in the future.”
- If you work for any school system:
- Keep a close eye on your retirement accounts.
- Make sure the numbers are right.
- If you see anything you don’t understand... ask. Don’t just hope it will resolve itself... jump on it early.
- Still, you may need to be persistent.
- Communicate with your employer in writing. And keep those records
>>CLICK HERE for more Action 9 reports
WATCH: Johnson C. Smith University promotes diversity in tech
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
