Tough talk on school funds
Mayor de Blasio vowed to clean house after a bombshell audit uncovered millions in wasteful travel spending by the city Education Department.
The scathing report issued by Controller Scott Stringer suggested the public school system botched more than $20 million in travel expenses for 2017, including unnecessary meetings in lavish hotels that could have been held for free or much less on school sites.
De Blasio told reporters Wednesday that he hadn't seen Stringer's report, but he reacted to a Daily News cover story on the probe with a promise to act swiftly.
“We have to make sure that money is used appropriately and anything inappropriate has to be stopped, and there may have to be some consequences for some people involved,” de Blasio said at an unrelated press conference in the Bronx.
“I want to see a full accounting. I want to make sure money is used right. If anyone didn't use the money right, there needs to be consequences,” he added.
Stringer's tally of travel vouchers filed by Education Department employees found sloppy workers failed to follow regulations for 93% of travel expenses, potentially costing taxpayers millions in bunk spending.
De Blasio suggested that heads could roll over the public schools' latest scandal, citing Chancellor Richard Carranza's swift termination of officials deemed responsible for the city's yellow school bus fiasco at the start of the school year on Sept. 5.
“He got rid of people who were doing the wrong thing very, very quickly,” de Blasio said of Carranza. “I think he has a can-do attitude about cleaning up things like this.”
Stringer praised de Blasio for taking heed of his highly critical report.
“I appreciate the mayor's response on our DOE audit and that he has taken our findings seriously and made it clear that spending without accountability will not be tolerated,” Stringer said. “I look forward to working with him to ensure that precious resources aren't wasted and instead are being focused where they should be – on our classrooms and our kids.”
A chorus of local politicians joined the call for de Blasio to eliminate waste identified in Stringer's audit of travel spending within the city's massive, $32 billion public school system.
City Council Education Committee Chairman Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn) said he intends to explore the issue in upcoming City Council education budget hearings.
“In an education system where many schools are chronically underfunded ... and teachers have to spend out of pocket for basic supplies and resources, this is absolutely disgraceful,” Treyger said.
Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) echoed Treyger's call for greater scrutiny of school officials' spending habits.