A report in the Seattle Times says that a previously uncovered alleged financial scandal within Seattle's public-school system may be wider than previously believed, and points to surveillance-cabling projects as examples of the alleged corruption.
Seattle Times education reporter Linda Shaw writes that the scandal "may be $1.3 million more than previously thought," citing state auditors. She also writes, "In one instance, the auditor found, the district paid $14,505 for video surveillance cabling and conduit which auditors estimated was worth $1,054." (See her full report here.)
Shaw reports on other examples of alleged overpayments, including "$127,981 for security equipment at several schools and a district warehouse that auditors said doesn't work or is not fully functional," and "$2,500 for two security cameras at Cleveland High that were not installed at the school."
The installer of the security cabling and/or equipment is among 14 of 26 vendors with whom auditors found problems upon further investigating the original scandalous claims. None of the 14 vendors were named in the auditors' report, but according to Shaw, the problematic dealings with these vendors included "wages paid at much higher than the prevailing rate, lack of detail about what the district was paying for, charges for hours that vendors could not document, and adding what auditors considered excessive markups."
The probe focuses on Silas Potter Jr., a former administrator in the school system. Shaw reports, "It was not immediately clear whether any of the vendors could face criminal charges."
I have a feeling that somewhere in the Seattle area, there's a knot in the pit of some contractor's stomach.
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