The district has spent more than $400,000 on the investigation and legal fees, drawing outrage from taxpayers, RTV6's Kara Kenney reported.

The performance of Lynhurst Middle School is so poor that it's in danger of state takeover. Some said they think the district is wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Julie Calvert-Klarich has asked repeatedly for the school board to resign, saying they signed Thompson's payout and shouldn't keep fighting it.

The school board that signed off on Thompson's contract launched the investigation. RTV6 obtained a Dec. 15 memo marked "privileged and confidential" from Superintendent Jeff Butts to school board members that shows legal fees have cost taxpayers more than $403,000.

The memo indicated that the board spent $132,996.77 with attorney Lee McTurnan, $72,870 on law firm Bingham McHale and $198,004 with law firm Pence Hensel LLC.

After months of investigation performed by attorneys, the school district filed a lawsuit against Thompson in November, accusing him of manipulating his contracts and devising an elaborate, complex and deceitful scheme to defraud the district of millions of dollars in salary and compensation.

"They want to blame Terry Thompson. You know what, they signed it," she said. "Shame on them."

The district filed suit against Thompson in November, with legal bills likely to mount.

"It infuriates me, because this money should be going to educate the students. We already have one school in the process of being taken over by the government, and I think that money could be better used to help the students instead of making the school board feel better," Calvert-Klarich said.

Randy Campbell, a retired Wayne Township teacher, said the district is "throwing good money after bad."

"I think all of the members of the school board ought to go take econ 101 and look at cost-effectiveness," Campbell said.

Neither Thompson nor the Wayne Township School Board president was available for comment Monday.

Thompson and his attorneys haven't filed anything responding to the district's lawsuit.

School officials stopped answering Kenney's questions about Thompson's payout months ago, only responding to open records requests.