U.S. Attorney Activiates School Corruption Hotline

If you think you know about corruption or fraud in public education, there is a hotline you can call to report it.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania is maintaining the hotline — 412-894-7515. 

"Potential abuses include misuse of federal funds, spending irregularities, corruption in the contract and bidding process, theft and embezzlement of district funds and bribery, kickbacks or other forms of illegal collusion with outside vendors," said U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton.

“Uncovering and eliminating school fraud is a priority of the Department of Justice and of our office because it is fundamental to maintaining confidence in educational funding,” Hickton said.

“Most fraud is exposed as a result of tips and complaints from other school employees and citizens. We look forward to working with the citizens of Western Pennsylvania to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse of public education funds.”

In , several policies and procedures are in place to combat fraud. Here is a summary from Dana Siford, director of finance and school services, of  the district's external reviews:

• Annual independent audits of school district financial statements and internal controls
• Biannual audits from the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General 
• Periodic federal grant/program audits (depends on the frequency and dollar amount of grant funding)
• Annual independent audits of real estate tax collectors and earned income tax collectors
• PlanCon construction projects require an audit of the project financial statement at the conclusion of the project

The school board adopted an "anti-fraud policy" in 2006 that establishes principles and expectations for the school district to prevent fraud, investigate and provide consequences for engaging in fraud and to heighten awareness of possible fraud, according to the policy.

"The district will not tolerate fraud or the concealment of fraud," the policy states. 

Financial reports and documents are approved regularly at open school board meetings. The public may view those documents in the school board's agendas and minutes posted on its Web site.

When it comes to the competitive world of bids, they are recorded on a bid tabulation that is a public record, Siford explained. Bids and contracts are awarded publicly at a school board meeting, and they are subject to audit procedures, she added.