A former president of Mt. San Jacinto College earned at least $78,000 more than allowed under his state retirement package while serving as the college's interim president, according to a final state audit released Wednesday, but it is unknown whether he will be forced to reimburse the overpayment.

Richard Giese retired from the college in July 2005 as president after six years, but did not leave the college for another 8 1/2 months. Beginning Aug. 1 of that year, he became the college's interim president - but was paid by a consulting company, the Maas Companies of central California, not the college. A few months before Giese was to retire, the college's board of trustees had hired Maas to find a new president and manage the district in the interim.

Under his retirement, Giese was only allowed to earn about $28,000 annually, according to an audit by the California State Teachers' Retirement System. That report is the same as the preliminary audit released in May.

But Giese, now executive director of the Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology in Hemet, made at least $106,000 - a figure the college did not initially report to the retirement system.

Citing confidentiality of personnel matters, retirement system spokeswoman Sherry Reeser declined Wednesday to discuss the Giese case directly, but said the agency generally aims to recover overpayments.

Giese said he wouldn't be opposed to repaying money he may not have been entitled to. An overpayment would be sent to the retirement system, not the college, state officials said.

"If it's owed to (the retirement system), then it will be repaid," Giese said in a Wednesday interview. "If your paycheck is over by $10, you pay it back. It's that simple."

Mt. San Jacinto College officials contend they are not at fault for the overpayment, as they contracted with Maas, not Giese, for the services.

"We don't know what Maas paid Giese," said Bill Marchese, a spokesman for Mt. San Jacinto College. "He may have been doing other work that would have accounted for his salary."

Giese refused to specify how much he earned in that fiscal year, but confirmed Marchese's suspicion that his work was not limited to the interim presidency of Mt. San Jacinto College.

In addition to guiding the college, which has campuses in Menifee and San Jacinto, Giese also networked with other community colleges on behalf of Maas, he said.

But the audit concluded that college officials "knew the retired superintendent's pay was at least $12,500 a month" - which would correspond to a minimum of $106,000 in his 8 1/2 months as the college's interim president.

The audit was prompted by college Trustee Ann Motte of Perris, the lone member to oppose the hiring of the Maas Companies for Giese's replacement.

Motte, who couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, recently said the college should try to collect the overpayment from Maas, as "it's money that didn't need to be paid."

But Marchese said that action couldn't be taken by the college.

"It's not like we're entitled to a refund, because we didn't make an overpayment," he said.

- Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com.