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Shameful management: City schools let nearly $2 million fall through cracks

Nate Guidry/Post-Gazette

Shameful management: City schools let nearly $2 million fall through cracks

The district gave up thousands upon thousands of dollars for no good reason

Crying over spilled milk may be a waste of tears but a few should be shed over Pittsburgh Public Schools’ unnecessary loss of almost $2 million in fuel tax refunds.

The Pennsylvania auditor general minced no words in criticizing PPS for several matters related to transportation and made a couple of debatable suggestions for improvements. But one point that is not debatable is that the district gave up thousands upon thousands of dollars for no good reason.

Taxpayers simply were shortchanged.

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The audit reviewed the school district’s transportation operations from 2014 through 2018 and found that transportation vendors had failed to submit fuel consumption data so the district could apply for a reimbursement from the state.

As Auditor General Eugene DePasquale put it: that failure left stacks of money “on the table.” It amounted to $1.99 million. The total cost of transporting some 20,000 students was about $119 million during the audit period.

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The auditor general opined that the district should seek competitive bids for its transportation contracts and also attempt to reduce the number of contracts. (There are more than a dozen carriers utilized by the district). But, school officials have publicly countered that forgoing the bidding process — which is not required by law — allows for more haggling at the negotiating table. There are good arguments to be made on both sides of this issue.

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But, not arguable is PPS administrators’ failure to do the paperwork necessary to collect all possible state dollars to which the district and taxpayers are entitled. Mr. DePasquale called the record-keeping “horrible” and irresponsible.

PPS operations chief Pam Capretta said the district has been requesting fuel tax refunds since she assumed the position in 2017. And, in fact, the district was reimbursed about $720,000 in 2017 and 2018, combined.

But the lost $1.99 million amounts to spilled milk. It cannot be recouped. Of 499 school districts in Pennsylvania, fuel consumption is tracked for reimbursement purposes by all but a handful of districts. Public schools are exempt from Pennsylvania’s motor fuel tax. Under the state’s Vehicle Code, liquid fuels are tax-free when purchased by a school district. But, proper records and receipts must be maintained and the reimbursements must be sought. The diesel fuel reimbursement is 74.1 cents a gallon and 57.6 cents for gasoline.

Systems are in place to ensure that this doesn’t happen again and Ms. Capretta has underscored the legitimate point that the change in procedure preceded the auditor general’s scathing report. Nonetheless, in an era of tight money — when every dollar must be squeezed — Pittsburgh Public Schools and its students and its taxpayers lost out on millions. 

First Published: July 1, 2019, 10:30 a.m.

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