Audits question $15M in school expenses (N.J.)

Star Ledger ^ | Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | BY JOHN MOONEY AND KASI ADDISON

[Calpernia]

Audits question $15M in school expenses Of the 4 large state-run districts reviewed, Camden comes under greatest criticism

EXCERPT

Despite years of state oversight in all four districts, the reports found Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden schools all need immediate attention in areas including payroll, accounting and purchasing.

• In Camden, more than $13 million in expenses was "questionable."
• Purchases from an open account held by Newark superintendent Marion Bolden included figurines, decorations and a $1,795 jukebox.
• Jersey City administrators spent thousands of dollars for out-of-state and overseas trips.
• In Paterson, custodians could double their pay through overtime, and controls were so lax that more than 2,000 purchase orders exceeded their stated dollar amounts by a combined total of more than $6 million.

State officials said the latest audits, conducted by the accountancy firm KPMG, were about ensuring that the state's money is well-spent and the children are getting educated.

"There is definitely progress that has been made, but there are still things that need to be fixed and done differently," said Education Commissioner Lucille Davy.

"Catering bills, floral bills; there was one airfare to Houston with no people identified, nothing about what they were going to do," she said. "Some of this may have a good explanation, but bottom line is: This is public dollars, and the work has to be done and the paper in place to support the money being spent."

[Calpernia]

Dictated from NJ101.5 Morning Radio

An audit of Camden schools found an employee was issued $130,000 since his death in 1974 while paychecks also were printed for three others with birth dates in the future.

At least 10 employees were on the payroll after their deaths, they were issued paychecks totaling $380,000 after dying. One employee, hired in 1966 and dead since 1974, was listed as retired in 2006. He was issued checks of $130,000. 3 employees have birth dates sometime in the future.

The auditors said they had trouble collecting some information because data is routinely purged at the end of each year!

[Calpernia]

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[Calpernia]

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[PBRSTREETGANG]

Of course they were receiving paychecks after death...they were still voting Democratic after all.

[Calpernia]

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[mtbopfuyn]

That's nothing. Here, the state claimed it couldn't do anything about the supt. because he hadn't left them enough of a paper trail. He sent his clothes to the cleaners, bought a truck, built a nice new house and a few other things off our tax dollars. Then he had the nerve to act all innocent when the request for books he supposedly submitted somehow got misdirected so the high school didn't have books one year. Of course we had the privilege of buying off his contract for a huge $um.

[Coleus]

When DiFrancesco was governor, an audit found a $54 million shortfall in Newark that couldn't account for the money. Nobody had to pay it back and nobody found out where it went, last that I read.

[Cagey]

I'd like to say you're ruining my optimism with these stories lately but I'm not surprised as it appears there is no bottom to the waste and corruption in this state.

Good job exposing them.

[Calpernia]

Thanks for the link to the audit.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1778417/posts?page=45#45