Manipulated System
School Secretaries In $200G Ripoff

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard J. Condon released a report Feb. 5 that concluded that two School Secretaries stole more than $200,000 from P.S. 132 in The Bronx by manipulating a payment system meant for small purchases and expenses.

RICHARD J. CONDON: Take a memo, DOE.

Karen Boucher and Renee Scriven are accused of skimming the money out of the school's budget between September 2002 and December 2005 by using their authorization codes, keeping amounts relatively low and shuffling names and addresses to cover their tracks.

Faults DOE Controls

Mr. Condon criticized the Department of Education for lax oversight and advised the agency to review its financial controls. He also recommended that Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein fire the two employees and bar them from working in city schools in the future.

"If the charges prove to be true," said Ron Davis, a spokesman for the United Federation of Teachers, which represents the two workers, "then they should not be working in a public school."

The investigation, which began in December of 2005, found that Ms. Boucher and Ms. Scriven stole more than $80,000 using the Small Item Payment Process, which is meant for over-the-counter transactions. They kept no records and all of the SIPP checks remained under $500, the limit allowed at the school level. All of the checks issued to the employees used variations of their married and maiden names, which ensured that one name did not appear repeatedly.

SIPP checks totaling $11,592.49 were paid to Ms. Boucher's personal Wal-Mart credit card account, according to the report. The money paid for purchases, finance charges, late fees and an outstanding balance.

Unusual 'School Supplies'

Mr. Condon accused both secretaries of using the school's JP Morgan Chase procurement cards, known as P-cards, to buy personal items under the guise of purchasing school supplies. The report alleged that they bought computer equipment, jewelry, video games, a television, a DVD player, clothing, cigarettes, light beer and holiday decorations. The items were shipped to both women's homes, as well as to Ms. Boucher's summer dwelling and Ms. Scriven's family members' residences.

The city employees also improperly funneled more than $115,000 of per-session payments, according to the report, which are issued for work done after school hours. The hours were never authorized, and in two instances Ms. Boucher collected the payments for more than 30 hours she would have had to have completed while on vacation in Florida, according to Mr. Condon.

The findings have been referred to Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson, who has not yet decided what action if any he will take.