A Steel Valley school director has agreed to pay $10,313 in restitution for votes he took to award supplemental contracts to his brother, according to a consent agreement negotiated by the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission.

According to the agreement, school Director Edward McCallister of West Homestead was to make the payment in restitution for votes he took to appoint his brother Shawn McCallister to various extra duty positions within the school district and votes he took to approve payments to his brother for those positions.

The agreement was reached on Dec. 4 to Edward McCallister on Dec. 19. After a 30-day blackout period during which Edward McCallister could have asked for reconsideration, the document became public last week, said John Contino, the commission's executive director.

Mr. Contino said Edward McCallister already has made his first payment of $5,000, which will be followed by a dozen smaller monthly payments. Edward McCallister could not be reached for comment.

Shawn McCallister was a long-time social studies teacher in the district before being appointed its athletic director in 2005 in a temporary full-time position. The position, which became athletic/activities director, was made a permanent full-time position for Shawn McCallister in 2006.

But it was not Edward McCallister's votes on the athletic diretor's position that the ethics commission found to be on violation of ethics laws, which state that pubic officials and employees are not permitted to use their positions for private fianncial gain for members of their immediate family.

The commission's consent agreement document said Edward McCallister got incorrect advice from the district's solicitor that he was permitted to participate in the votes to appoint his brother athletic director and to make the position a full-time permanent position.

However, the ethics investigation found that Edward McCallister voted to approve Shawn McCallister's appointments to various other supplemental contract positions on six separate occasions.

They were: Aug. 11, 2003, as social studies department head; Oct. 13, 2003, as 7th grade girls basketball coach; Sept. 20, 2004, as middle school academic challenges coach; Sept. 19, 2005, as intramural director; July 25, 2006, as equipment manager; and Sept. 26. 2006, as intramural director.

Another finding was the Edward McCallister was one of the unanimous votes "to approve general fund hand checks or payroll funding transfers during the financial management section of the SVSD meetings authorizing the issuance payroll" for 29 out of 42 times for his brother's supplemental contracts from Nov. 2003 to June 2007.

The consent agreement said Edward McCallister was aware of the requirement to abstain from votes regarding the appointment of Shawn McCallister to supplemental contracts.

The total compensation received by Shawn McCallister as a result of those votes was $10,313 -- the amount that Edward McCallister has agreed to pay.

To prove that Edward McCallister was aware of the requirement to abstain from votes on his brother's supplemental contracts, the consent order points out nine other instances between September 2002 and December 2006 when he abstained from such votes.

Also in October 2007, Edward McCallister abstained from a vote on revisions to the job description of the athletic director, who was still his brother Shawn McCallister. At that meeting the duties of equipment manager and intramurals manager were incorporated in the athletic director's position with no increase in salary.

In addition to the votes that Edward McCallister made on his brother's supplemental contracts, the ethics commission also found him in violation of failiing to file statements of finamncial interest for the years 2001 and 2002 and he has been ordered to do so. School directors are required under the state Ethics Act to file financial disclosure forms by May 1 each year.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.