Sawyers said he mixed up credit cards and accidentally used the district card for more than $800 in personal purchases when he was superintendent of Perry Local Schools in northeast Ohio. He repaid the money and was reprimanded by the district in 2010.

The Ohio Board of Education was aware of the mistake when it unanimously voted to hire him as an assistant state superintendent in 2010, board president Debe Terhar said. She termed it a "non-issue" that likely won't come up if Sawyers applies for the permanent position. She said he's done a "wonderful job" as deputy.

"Michael made restitution, there was an audit done," Terhar said. "He acknowledged it was an error, he paid it back and everything was finished."

Ohio Department of Education spokesman John Charlton said Sawyers was "upfront about it from the beginning."

Sawyers' credit card mistake, reported by The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, comes to light again following the resignation of Superintendent Stan Heffner amid allegations of ethical violations. A report last week by the state's inspector general found Heffner was on the payroll of a Texas-based testing firm when he lobbied state lawmakers last year on a bill that benefited the company. The report also found Heffner misused his state email, cellphone and staff to pursue the testing job.

Sawyers said in a telephone interview Friday that his district card and personal cards looked similar, and he simply mixed them up.

"I was basically not paying attention," he said. "It was the same color card."

He said the district brought the mistake to his attention and gave him a chance to repay the money. He said he apologized to the school board and the community.

The Dispatch reported that over a period of two years Sawyers bought pizzas and paid for a bottle of wine during a dinner with a Perry board member that was supposed to have been charged to a different bill. He also used a leftover Disney World meal card originally purchased for student band members.

As a result, the local school district tightened its credit card policy.

Sawyers was named deputy superintendent in 2011 after Heffner's appointment. The board is scheduled to talk about how to move forward at an Aug. 20 meeting. Sawyers said Friday he didn't know yet if he will apply for the top job.