Hempstead school board examines forensic audit contract
From left, Hempstead school board trustee Randy Stith, vice president Gwendolyn Jackson, president Maribel Touré and Superintendent Shimon Waronker at a special board meeting on Tuesday evening, Jan. 9, 2018. Credit: Danielle Finkelstein
The Hempstead Board of Education is exploring whether to continue its contract with Plante Moran, the company it hired to conduct a forensic audit of the struggling school district.
As part of its efforts to turn around, the district last year contracted with Plante Moran for $85,000, a highly respected firm that conducted the forensic audit of the Detroit Public Schools, to audit its own books. The firm is now calling on the district to amend its contract and provide an additional $135,000 to continue the investigation.
Initially Thursday night, members of the board majority — David Gates, LaMont Johnson and Randy Stith — expressed concern over the additional funds and voted down an amendment that would have allocated the money.
Board president Maribel Touré and vice president Gwendolyn Jackson, who voted in favor of the amendment, said the district should pay the additional fee and continue with the audit.
The district’s 2017-18 budget included $485,000 to launch the investigation with the company, and only $85,000 has been used, Touré said. “This is a disservice to the students not to investigate how we are spending money.”
Stith noted that state officials were also looking at the district’s finances.
“For the record, the state comptroller’s office is back in the district again, and so they will be looking at the finances and everything that’s been going on,” Stith said.
The state comptroller’s office in a December 2014 audit pointed to numerous flaws in the district’s financial operations and handling of its budget. The office in January of this year said it plans to again dispatch a team of auditors to exam the district’s books.
The board then revisited the issue after midnight, coming back from a lengthy executive session.
Gates said he, Stith and Johnson were seeking further information relative to the renegotiation. “[T]he base fee, we don’t have an issue with. It’s the additional fee that’s the challenge,” he said.
By a 4-1 vote the board approved a resolution calling on the district’s attorney to speak with the company and explore the “options, costs and benefits” of an amended agreement.
Jackson voted against the resolution. She and Touré on Friday told Newsday they believe the move was an effort to block the audit. They expressed concern that the board majority would elect not to continue with the company.
“I didn’t like the fact of going back and asking them to do that with the possibility of them saying no,” Jackson said of the negotiations. “. . . You’re kind of limiting them for the scope of work by putting these financial restrictions on them and then we’re not getting at the real truth.”
The other three members of the board did not return calls for comment on Friday.
The board is scheduled to meet on Monday. It’s unclear if the contract will be on the agenda.
A request for comment to Plante Moran was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
