SEBRING, Fla. – Some might say Highlands County school district Superintendent Wallace Cox earned every penny of his very nice salary in 2015-16 – his final year on the job –  by having to deal with a horrific sex scandal involving teachers and students.

Others might argue that the longtime superintendent was ultimately responsible for everything that happened in the district, so he deserves at least some of the blame.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

Over the span of two months in early 2016, one teacher in the Highlands district was arrested and charged with having sex with a middle school student, two others were investigated for allegedly having nude photos of students on their phones, and another was investigated for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a ninth-grade student, according to published reports from WFLA.com.

Even worse, news reports indicated that school administrators had warned the teacher who was subsequently arrested regarding her suspicious behavior with a middle school boy – without alerting authorities – and allowed her to return to the classroom.

In April 2016, two Highlands school administrators who directly report to Cox – the assistant superintendent and a middle school principal – were “placed on administrative leave in connection with the case,” WFLA.com reported.

The local sheriff suggested there was widespread knowledge throughout the school community about teachers having sexually-oriented relationships with students.

“We would be remiss if we did not thoroughly try to find where was the breakdown in this system,” Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton was quoted as saying.

“Because as soon as this occurred we kept hearing, ‘Well we knew that.’ ‘Oh, that’s been going on for months.’ Those were the comments we were constantly getting from other students, from other parents, from other teachers.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“How did it work its way up so far, all the way to the county office with no one ever realizing that this should have been reported to law enforcement?”

In the 2015-16 fiscal year, Cox was paid a straight salary of $124,986.04, according to information provided by the school district. He also received health insurance, along with several other minor benefits, totaling 5,546.68.

The school district made a $52,831.55 contribution to the state retirement system on Cox’ behalf. As the school staffer who provided that information noted, the large retirement contribution was “state mandated.”

Overall Cox cost the district at least $183,274 in 2015-16.