The case is under review by the state Attorney General's Office Criminal Justice Division, a spokesman said. The State Board of Examiners, which reviews public education credentials, is set to conduct a hearing Thursday, Sept. 15.
A lawyer hired by one of the charter schools, who said he represented Garcia, disputed allegations that she had tried to divert the state's investigation.
"Their conclusions as to Dr. Garcia's intentionally misrepresenting anything is not backed up by the facts in the report," said Joe Betley, who was retained by the Vineland Public Charter School last week.
In addition to working as business administrator in the Winslow district, a full-time position, Garcia was executive director of the Vineland school and business administrator of the ECO Charter School in Camden and the Charter-Tech High School for the Performing Arts in Somers Point during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.
Garcia continues to hold those positions. According to published reports, she and her husband, Esteban, cofounded the Vineland charter school. Esteban Garcia serves on the school's board.
The couple just opened another charter school in Millville. Ann Garcia will not hold a position there, Betley said.
Ann Garcia's combined income last year exceeded the base salary of the highest-paid public school official in New Jersey, the Newark School District superintendent, who was paid $280,000 during the last school year, according to state records.
State education officials did not find fault with the volume of work she performed.
"There is nothing in the statute or code that speaks to allowing or disallowing multiple employment positions," an Education Department spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
But holding multiple jobs with overlapping responsibilities "could involve criminality," the spokeswoman said.
