No charges to be filed against former Yale School superintendent, officials say

<br>STILLWATER, Okla. (AP)_ A former Yale school superintendent accused of mishandling property insurance premiums will not face criminal charges. <br><br>An investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau

Wednesday, August 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP)_ A former Yale school superintendent accused of mishandling property insurance premiums will not face criminal charges.

An investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation showed James Cox committed no crimes, said Payne County District Attorney Robert Hudson.

Two school board members had accused Cox of wrongdoing.

``I didn't think they would find anything and they didn't,'' said School Board President Harry Sneed. ``I am not surprised at all and I am very, very pleased.''

The allegations against Cox stemmed from a change in insurance rates. The district insurer had projected rate increase for most school districts; Cox and former school attorney Bill Wilkinson formed a group with four other school districts to negotiate better rates.

State law allows schools and business to form groups to get run more efficiently.

Wilkinson said the school superintendents involved in the insurance cooperative received no compensation.

``They worked hard on this and never got a penny,'' Wilkinson said. ``They did a good job.''

Hudson said there is no evidence that superintendents got money for taking part in the cooperative.