ALLENTOWN, Pa. - An $88,000 computer purchase using grant funding highlighted a debate over whether the Allentown School Board should move forward with a 30-year forensic audit.
The administration recommended that the school board hire Philadelphia firm EisnerAmper to meet with the school board to discuss the scope of an audit. The board did not vote on the matter as it was a discussion only.
- Allentown School administration recommended the school board spend about $5,000 with EisnerAmper to develop a scope of work for a possible audit
- Board member Lisa Conover said she wants a 30-year forensic audit to detect potential fraud and waste
- Conover highlighted a computer purchase that was made without board approval
Interim Business Managers Richard Fazio and Charles Linderman said members of the company would meet with board members to ask them what issues should be looked at and why they thought there was a reason an audit should be done.
Forensic audits are typically done when there are specific allegations of misconduct, according to the district's solicitor and business managers.
School board member Lisa Conover said she was in favor of a 30-year forensic audit because she was concerned about possible fraud and abuse. She said she was concerned about the computer purchase because the board did not sign off on it.
“This was not an $8,000 purchase. This was an $88,000 purchase that did not go through the channels it needed to go through."Allentown Board Member Lisa Conover
“This was not an $8,000 purchase,” she said. “This was an $88,000 purchase that did not go through the channels it needed to go through. This board did not vote that it could go through.”
The district purchased 308 Chromebooks for the four middle schools which totaled $88,623.92 at the end of September.
They were bought using Comprehensive School Improvement Funds, a federal grant.
The purchase was made so the district didn’t lose the money before the deadline for it to be used. The business managers said it was competitively bid and within budget.
The district’s solicitor told the board the spending didn’t violate state law, but it did violate district policy.
The expenditure of dollars over $26,000 must go before the board for approval.
The district should have gotten approval from the board before buying the computers. Since it did not, the board's approval was sought retroactively.
Board members Conover, LaTarsha Brown and Patrick Palmer voted against the item going for a vote at the next regular board meeting later this month. The other six board members voted yes.
Board Director Jennifer Lynn Ortiz asked if she had to meet with members of the firm, indicating she was reluctant to meet with them.
“I don’t want this audit,” she said. “I don’t think it’s needed and I don’t agree with it.”
When asked what her constituents should understand about why it was not necessary, she declined to comment further.
Newly elected board President Audrey Mathison said she was interested in hearing more about hiring a firm to develop a scope and the next steps. Former board president Nancy Wilt was elected vice president during the board's reorganization Thursday night.
The board approved creating a position that would be an assistant to interim Superintendent Carol Birks. It also contained a new employment contract for Facilities Director Tom Smith, who had submitted his resignation in October.
