Reversing the stance of its superintendent, the Natomas Unified School District board on Friday agreed to seek restitution from its former facilities chief, who pleaded no contest last month to felony conflict of interest.

At the ex-employee's sentencing hearing July 8, Superintendent Steve Farrar and longtime board member Teri Burns stated that they wouldn't seek $32,533 from Frank C. Harding Jr. Farrar was adamant, stating the district "is not and will not seek restitution."

Farrar's decision drew criticism – the Natomas school district faces tight budgets and cutbacks, as do other school districts in the region. And he got the attention of the prosecutor, Don Steed, who vowed to look out for taxpayer dollars and scheduled a restitution hearing for next Tuesday.

In a hastily called emergency session Friday night, the Natomas school board made it clear that Farrar and Burns had not been speaking for the district.

"At no time was (the issue of) restitution brought before this board," said Ron Dwyer-Voss, board president.

After the unanimous vote, Dwyer-Voss asked Farrar if he understood.

"We need to be clear, we need to talk to each other and not read about each other (in newspaper accounts)," Dwyer-Voss said.

Parents and community members who rushed to attend the meeting were frustrated when they found that the action already had been taken.

Briza Trujillo, a parent, said she wanted to speak to the board because she had been outraged over its decision not to go after cash from Harding.

"Those funds belong to the students," she said.

When he was the district's facilities chief, Harding awarded no-bid contracts to a construction management company in which he had a financial stake – a felony offense. In a plea bargain arrangement, Harding pleaded no contest in Sacramento Superior Court to one felony count and was sentenced to 526 hours of community service.

Farrar and Burns asked the judge to give Harding a lenient sentence, saying the district had not been harmed by his actions.

In its brief discussion Friday, Dwyer-Voss said that law required restitution if Harding was to get probation.

Dwyer-Voss stressed that the board's restitution decision is not connected to the district's investigation into a controversial purchase of 41 acres for a record-setting price – a transaction in which Harding played a part.

A Bee investigation in April 2007 revealed that while in the district's employ, Harding awarded eight no-bid contracts totaling $433,500 to Educational Facilities Program Management, his former company.

Harding had left the company in 2004 after accepting the job in Natomas. He sold the company to his friend and employee Michael Cannon for $32,533.

Cannon paid for the business over time, writing checks to Harding from March 2004 to June 2005. At the same time, Harding was awarding Natomas school district contracts to Cannon.

The DA's office has said the law allows any taxpayer to ask the court to nullify the eight contracts that Harding granted Educational Facilities Program Management – meaning the district could recoup the entire $433,500.

In interviews Friday, Dwyer-Voss and Farrar told The Bee the board is not looking to reclaim that money.

Farrar said Harding did the work at below-market rates. "A real bargain" saving the district more than $1 million, he said.

Harding left Natomas in 2007 to take a similar post in Elk Grove. He was fired 13 weeks later for "dishonest behavior."

His termination followed another Bee investigation, which found degrees listed on his résumé may have come from a diploma mill.

Call The Bee's Terri Hardy, (916) 321-1073.