Auditor General DePasquale: Pittsburgh Public Schools Dropped Ball, Missed Millions in State Funding Toward Busing Costs Students, taxpayers shortchanged by no-bid contracts, poor record-keeping



Auditor General DePasquale: Pittsburgh Public Schools Dropped Ball, Missed Millions in State Funding Toward Busing Costs

Students, taxpayers shortchanged by no-bid contracts, poor record-keeping

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HARRISBURG (June 20, 2019) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today said his audit of Pittsburgh Public Schools’ transportation services shows the district missed out on at least $2 million in state reimbursements. He also said students and taxpayers are being shortchanged by the district’s use of one-size-fits-all, no-bid transportation contracts.

“Student transportation is among the largest expenses school districts must pay,” DePasquale said. “Providing safe and reliable transportation is critical and must be done as efficiently as possible to ensure as much education funding as possible makes it into the classroom.”

During the four-year audit period, the district collectively paid more than $119 million to approximately 20 different vendors using nearly 600 vehicles to transport more than 21,000 students to and from school.

Auditors found that for five consecutive years (2012-2016), the district failed to require transportation vendors to submit fuel consumption data that other districts use to receive fuel tax reimbursements from the state – leaving more than $2 million on the table.

“It is too late now for the district to recoup that $2 million, but I am glad to see the district has begun seeking that reimbursement,” DePasquale said, noting that the district received $717,863 for 2017 and 2018 combined. “That’s nearly three-quarters of a million dollars the district can invest in student education.”

Auditors also found that despite the Public School Code requirement, for three years (2014-15 through 2016-17) the district did not keep required documentation to support the $32 million in state transportation reimbursements it did receive.

“The lack of record-keeping by the district’s former transportation director was completely irresponsible and unacceptable,” DePasquale said. “Without proper records, my team was unable to determine if the district missed out on additional funds from the state.”

Additionally, auditors found several concerns with how the district handles transportation contracts, including:

Contracts are not competitively bid,

Only a few district staff negotiate the contracts and the board has given rubber-stamp approval every four to five years to the same vendors,

The same, one-size-fits-all contract is given to each vendor,

The daily rate paid to transportation providers is not tied to the number of students transported or the miles traveled, and

Transportation providers were paid for a minimum of two hours each day for each vehicle used, although several vendors each had multiple vehicles running routes that took less time.

“I am blown away by the district’s response that, due to the district’s size, they do ‘not believe that a request for bids or proposals would be beneficial,’” DePasquale said. “A district this large should be able to leverage that size to benefit students and taxpayers, and the district should take immediate steps to be more efficient and cost-effective.”

DePasquale has long advocated for all school transportation contracts to be re-bid each time they are up for renewal. In May 2016, he pointed out that his department had found 19 school districts that spent $54.8 million more than the state formula allowance, largely because they were renewing current transportation contracts without first seeking new bids.

This performance audit is separate from DePasquale’s ongoing review of travel by district officials and contracts that were awarded without seeking bids.

Review the 29-page Pittsburgh Public Schools performance audit and learn more about the Department of the Auditor General online at www.paauditor.gov.

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