The state auditor’s special investigation team has found more things that went awry in recent years in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, including hiring and competitive bidding practice violations.
In a special investigation report released Monday by Delaware Auditor of Accounts R. Thomas Wagner, he questioned the manner in which Red Clay hired energy specialist Brian Moore in 2004, and found that the District did not properly document $16,891 paid in rent for relocating A.I. duPont High School Principal Sam Golder.
In addition, Conrad Schools of Science’s dean of academics, Dr. Paula Topolosky, did not undergo interview screening required by the teachers’ contract, and did not have the required Delaware teacher certification, Wagner’s report revealed.
The investigation was prompted by several calls to the office’s fraud hotline, Wagner said.
"They’re making improvements, but they’ve got a lot of ground to cover," Wagner told the Community News. "Some of their problems are not easily resolved. They have some big picture, structural issues they need to address.”
Wagner’s report came a month after he released a detailed audit on financial problems in the District during the 2007 fiscal year. Among other things, Red Clay spent a disproportionate amount of local funds on “specialists” and substitute teachers.
At Conrad, Red Clay had hired veteran educator Dr. Gerald Smith as dean of school and Topolosky, a veteran of the healthcare industry and the DuPont Co., as dean of academics – a partnership Superintendent Robert J. Andrzejewski touted as a new model for leadership.
Red Clay had been forthcoming about Topolosky’s unconventional background, said Red Clay spokeswoman Pati D. Nash.
“We touted that it was an unusual management team because it was a unique school,” she said. However, at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 school year, Smith retired and Topolosky left to pursue other interests, according to a statement Red Clay posted on its Web site.
In other findings, Wagner’s report stated that the District could not provide documentation to support a $30,000 increase in the advertised salary for its energy specialist, just before it hired Moore. The report said the Auditor’s Office had received a tip that an employee endorsed by a politician was hired for the position “despite being unqualified and applying … after the closing date.”
The August posting (salary range $87,769-$93,371) was nearly identical to the June posting (salary range $51,390-$54,671), except that the latter eliminated the educator preference, and added up to half the job would be outside normal weekday hours, according to the report.
The District did not provide documentation or rationale for the salary increase, however, Moore did go through legitimate hiring procedures, according to Wagner’s report. When the position was initially posted but remained unfilled, that prompted the district to repost it with revisions, Nash said – including expanded work hours and duties. Moore has been reassigned and now manages facilities.
As for paying the rent for Golder when he relocated to take the A.I principal job two years ago, Wagner’s report noted that Red Clay does not have a relocation policy and paying for Golder’s apartment while he waited for his house to sell was not included in his contract. Moreover, the District did not follow IRS guidelines when it failed to report the $16,891 as taxable income.
Wagner’s report also said one third of the Red Clay vendors examined did not undergo the required “request for proposal” and bid process required by state law.
“Two vendor contracts had not been bid within the last five years,” Wagner’s report stated. “A no bid contract for $473,700 was given to Friend of the Family to provide services to the Central School,” an alternative program. In January, Red Clay discontinued the services provided by A Friend of the Family.
“We saw that we had problems back in 2007 and we’ve been addressing them for more than a year,” Nash said. “We feel we’re in a much better position now and are happy with the progress and procedures we have in place.”
Other findings included exceeding the $500,000 limit for minor capital construction project.
Allegations the auditor determined to be unfounded included an employee stealing time, and an administrator being paid incorrectly with federal funds.
