Schools Candidate Fox Sued By Cda St. Vincent De Paul Dispute Escalates Over Work On Grant

The fight between state superintendent of schools candidate Anne Fox and the Coeur d’Alene chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society escalated Tuesday.

The charity countersued Fox, seeking $21,400 plus damages.

Fox filed suit against the charity in February, seeking $112,755 she claims St. Vincent’s owes her for her work on a grant for a homeless shelter.

In the latest claim, St. Vincent’s admits it agreed to pay Fox 10 percent of the grant her work helped the charity receive. But charity officials say that Fox assured them the fee would be covered by volunteer work time and it wouldn’t cost more than $2,000 in actual money.

A federal grant for $1.3 million was approved. But the charity said it decided not to take the money because the figures Fox used in the grant application were not realistic or accurate. Charity officials accused Fox of inexperience and lack of skill.

After St. Vincent’s officials said they found problems in the grant application, they ended their agreement with Fox. She sued.

In its claim, the charity accuses Fox of fraud and misrepresentation for presenting herself as a professional grant-writer and for claiming her fee could be paid from the grant.

Fox released a statement Tuesday claiming her contract with St. Vincent’s called for her to be paid from store profits, not from the actual grant. She said St. Vincent’s was engaging in “scare tactics.”

St. Vincent’s paid Fox about $21,400 and wants that money back. The charity also wants Fox to pay its expenses for defending itself against her lawsuit.

Fox, a Republican from Post Falls, won a chance in the May primary to run in the general election for state superintendent of public instruction.