Despite initial resistance from the state Department of Education, the state auditor general’s office has started an audit of the department’s use and oversight of special advisers, consultants and contractors.
The audit, which started Thursday, will run concurrent with an ongoing performance audit of the department. It will begin with the period July 1, 2010, and continue through the auditors’ field work with completion expected in early 2015.
Two weeks ago, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced plans to expand the performance audit to include the review of advisers and consultants.
But, at the time, the Department of Education stated:
“While the department continues to review the Auditor General’s request, the department is concerned about its timing given that the current audit has been underway for more than six months. The department will work with the Auditor General so that this new objective is included in a future audit, as to not delay the current audit by expanding it into new areas.”
Instead, Mr. DePasquale said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he will conduct concurrent, but separate, audits. He said he had been prepared to go to Commonwealth Court to impose the audit of advisers and consultants if necessary. But, in its latest communications with his office, the Education Department acknowledged “that it is certainly something within our jurisdiction and that they are going to be fully cooperative,” Mr. DePasquale said.
The Department of Education released a statement Thursday stating it “is looking forward to working with the auditor general, and is confident that the results will show that the department and its staff are committed to providing high-quality education programs to the students of Pennsylvania.”
The new audit was prompted largely by the work record — or lack thereof that the department was able to produce — of Ron Tomalis, former special adviser to the governor on higher education.
A July 27 story in the Post-Gazette revealed that Mr. Tomalis had a largely empty calendar, phone logs that averaged a little more than a call per day, no written job description and a total of five emails that he sent during his first year as special adviser.
But Mr. DePasquale said the audit also will include a list of advisers and consultants from Gov. Ed. Rendell’s administration, a list provided by state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
Mr. Tomalis resigned Aug. 26 from his adviser’s position, which paid $139,542. It was the same salary he collected as state Secretary of Education, a position he held for 2½ years before becoming special adviser in June 2013. He could not be reached for comment.
A Sept. 20 story in the Post-Gazette revealed that although no records were produced to show Mr. Tomalis visited any colleges during his time as special adviser on higher education, he attended on state time a private equity conference in January in New York to speak to investors about opportunities to sell technology products and systems to public schools.
Mr. DePasquale said his office has received calls from various individuals suggesting it should investigate whether Mr. Tomalis had contacts in the education consulting world during his time with the Department of Education.
He said Mr. Tomalis’ trip to New York City is the sort of thing his office will want more information about in its look at special state employees.
He said there are times that out-of-state travel make sense for state officials, but the Tomalis trip becomes a question about agency policy given the department’s inability to produce any record that Mr. Tomalis traveled anywhere else for his official duties.
“Why in God’s name would you be approved to go on a trip to New York to talk to somebody about about how they can make money off of our kids and not once visit a higher ed university,” Mr. DePasquale questioned.
During his comments at the New York conference, Mr. Tomalis cautioned against making sales to large urban school districts that likely would not have the money to pay for training and professional development.
“I took that to mean they should ignore our city kids because they can’t make money off of them. And he’s on taxpayer time when he’s saying that,” Mr. DePasquale said.
First Published: October 2, 2014, 4:32 p.m.
