A Columbus City School human resources administrator could be fired after the district said her dealings with an insurance consultancy firm cost the district $40 million, according to an external forensic audit.
However, Courtney Hale, the executive director of HR operations who is facing termination, says she thinks the investigation into her is retribution for speaking out about an improper pay raise of the former district chief of staff Mike De Fabbo.
According to records obtained by The Dispatch, Hale was investigated by the district this year for her dealings with insurance consultancy firm Aon, which helped the district navigate its employee health insurance benefits package in 2024. The district alleged that she improperly signed contracts
with vendors, failed to maintain public records, sought a job with Aon and used the negotiating process to benefit from an expansion of access to weight-loss drugs.
However, the final investigation into Hale's conduct only found that she had improperly signed contracts and failed to maintain public records. It did not find that she used her role to obtain weight loss drug discounts, seek employment with Aon or in a separate, unrelated instance, accidentally post confidential district information to social media.
An external forensic audit of the dealings with Aon found the district spent $40 million more than expected for the benefits plan produced by Aon during 2025 and 2026, and that Aon "generally treated the district as a taxpayer-funded cash cow."
Aon was paid over $300,00 in 2024 and 2025, in addition to commissions. It was expected to be paid $180,000 in 2026 for consulting services before the district ended the contract early. The benefits plan, according to the audit, forced the district to pay for cost overruns based on bad projections. Aon refused to give dollar amounts for any commissions they received, the audit said.
The $40 million loss comes as the district faces a substantial budget deficit. The Dispatch reported in February that despite $50 million in cuts, the district's financial picture continues to worsen, driven in a large part by a $93.4-million health insurance premium increase it its five-year financial forecast.
In a statement, Aon said that it had worked with the district for 18 years and "throughout the engagement, Aon's analyses and recommendations regarding benefit plans, vendor selection and related initiatives were reviewed through CCS's established governance process, including the CCS Benefits Team and Joint Insurance Committee."
"Any resulting decisions were approved by the appropriate CCS bodies," the statement said. "Aon remains confident in the professionalism and transparency of the services provided to the district."
Hale told The Dispatch that the district had recommended her for termination, and she hasn't been paid her $145,000 salary since January. She noted she still has an additional hearing in August. She acknowledged that she had incorrectly signed contracts but said she brought it to her supervisor's attention and the investigation was an attempt to find a justification to fire her.
"I don't make decisions outside of (the joint insurance) committee – so how am I now the face of a $40 million loss?" Hale said.
Columbus City Schools said in a statement that it had terminated its contract with Aon and was seeking a new health benefits consultant. The district declined to comment on Hale, saying she is "still in the HR/termination process." According to her personnel file, she has been assigned to unpaid home duty.
Columbus Education Association President John Coneglio, who sits on the district's joint insurance committee as a union representative, said the district should consider pursuing legal action against Aon.
"Insurance is something that not not only affects the CEA, but also the (staff union), administrators, everybody," Coneglio said. "There needs be oversight and making sure they do what they say they're going to do, and making sure you hold them accountable. And since Aon was not accountable and did not fulfill its obligations, surely I'd love to see the district to pursue legal action against them and recoup some of the money they lost."
External audit says consultant 'not transparent'
The report concluded that Hale had violated two board policies, but "there is insufficient evidence to conclude that these violations were motivated by personal financial stake or other overt self-interest."
The report found that Hale over-relied on outside assistance from Aon that benefitted the consultancy firm at CCS's expense during the benefits process in 2024, but said relying on a consultancy firm was "typical, if not ideal."
"Even if it raises concerns given apparent lapses in oversight, others acknowledge that it would be nearly impossibleto complete all tasks in managing the district's benefits programs," the report said.
The forensic audit noted in the report found that Aon "was not transparent, did not perform services with appropriate technical skills or knowledge, neglected their own duties per their contracts with the district, and generally treated the district as a taxpayer-funded cash cow."
The report also said that Hale appeared indifferent to the district's worsening financial situation in the self-insurance fund, even as other employees attempted to broach the issue with her throughout the process. Aon appears to have provided Hale with "overly optimistic and unreasonable projections, which she does not appear to have questioned."
It also said Hale did not have a clear view of Aon's compensation structure, and could not answer questions about whether any commissions Aon may have received could have impacted the premiums paid by district employees. In a 2024 email exchange included in the report, an Aon employee tells Hale the firm is operating at a loss working for the district.
The forensic audit found that "any claim that Aon loses money serving the district is preposterous," and that some commissions on plans were as high as 80%, "when typically they would be a fraction of that." The auditor noted that Aon appeared to be telling the district they would be receiving rebates while recommending the highest-cost vendors.
In a presentation provided in the report, the report notes that GLP-1 weight loss drugs accounted for $5 million in increased costs for the district, with over $11 million in claims. The report found that projections failed to account for GLP-1s and there was no quarterly monitoring of claims variance.
Hale said that the insurance plans experienced "normal wear and tear" outside of increasing GLP-1 expenses and said nobody in the finance department informed her of the district's financial position. Hale said at the time, she was doing the work of five other vacant positions in addition to her own.
Hale says district is targeting her
Hale told The Dispatch she believes that the district initiated the investigation into her as retribution for whistleblowing about the pay raise of former chief of staff Mike De Fabbo. The Dispatch reported exclusively on July 11 that the district's internal audit department investigated De Fabbo in 2025 about whether he had given himself a pay raise in 2023.
"They came up with this elaborate story, the majority of the story didn't stick, but what they're still going to stick me on is signing contracts, that I caught," Hale said. "There was no material harm done. None of those contracts were ever executed."
On Jan. 5, 2023, Hale emailed the district's labor relations executive, saying she disagreed with De Fabbo's salary increase and that it needed board approval. She noted, however, that the district legal team said it was OK. In August 2025, Hale emailed the internal auditor, saying she enacted the pay increase with objection.
The CCS internal audit into the pay raise determined that De Fabbo had been overpaid around $54,000 over four fiscal years, and it recommended the findings be forwarded to the Ohio Auditor of State and the Ohio Ethics Commission. De Fabbo was the district's second-highest paid employee in 2025, The Dispatch reported in July.
But the Ohio Auditor of State report found that the board did not need to approve the administrative salary raise. The board "voted and approved on De Fabbo’s contract addendum noting his new daily rate." District officials and the internal legal team also determined that his pay raise was above board, although it wasn't as transparent as it could have been.
Hale said she knew that speaking out would lead to a "bunch of back-and-forth mudslinging."
"This is clearly me going against the machine," she said.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CCS looks to fire HR exec after district overspends by $40 million on insurance
