The Journal News was contacted recently by two readers who claimed they had knowledge that the state Comptroller’s Office had determined some serious wrongdoing had occurred on the part of a North Rockland school district worker.

In brief: the readers said Edward LaJoie retired in 2007 and began collecting a $60,000 annual pension.

But he continued to work for the school district, as director of facilities, collecting a $130,000 annual salary into 2008.

The readers suggested something wrong had gone on.

The Journal News looked into the matter and here’s what reporter Laura Incalcaterra found out:

Once a public service worker, in this case, a school district employee, turns 65, he or she can collect both a pension and a salary of any amount, said Emily DeSantis, a spokeswoman for the Comptroller’s Office.

A worker younger than 65 can earn up to $30,000 annually and also receive a pension, but if the worker earns more, his or her pension for that year will be withdrawn, she said.

LaJoie was older than 65 when he began collecting his pension while also receiving his salary, and thus faced no limits.

However, after School Board member Steve Cole-Hatchard sent a letter alerting the Comptroller’s Office to the simultaneous payouts, the office looked into the matter.

DeSantis said that technically, LaJoie needed to resign and then be rehired by the school board to meet the legal requirements for the simultaneous payouts. The Comptroller’s Office sent LaJoie a letter in May telling him he would need to repay the pension payout unless he resigned, after which, the school district could rehire him, DeSantis said.

LaJoie said that after working 52 years for public school systems, he felt it was time to retire and declined to take the district up on its offer to rehire him. His last work day was May 30.

DeSantis said the Comptroller’s Office was not seeking any repayments because by resigning, LaJoie met the legal requirements governing the pension program.

As usual, thanks to those who pass tips on to us; we always appreciate and try to look into them. Sometimes, they’re spot-on and an article results. Other times, there’s simply been a misunderstanding and the result is much as outlined here.

We know that some folks in the community have been talking about this, and figured we could shed some light on the situation, seeing as we researched it.

Feel free to send me tips anytime at avernon@lohud.com