Release of bus audit delayed to avoid 'panic,' super says
Report won't be publicly released until action plan compiled
BY DANIELLE MEDINA
Correspondent

The nearly two-month delay in the release of an audit that heavily criticized the Brick Township school district bus system was due to a number of factors, Schools Superintendent Thomas L. Seidenberger said.

The district received a draft copy of the report from Transportation Advisory Services, a Walworth, N.Y.-based firm, on March 24. But school officials have not yet released the document to Board of Education members or to the public.

"We had an election, a change in leadership on the board and in the transportation department, and we were engaged in negotiations with the Transport Workers Union (TWU)," Seidenberger said. "And we didn't want to just give it out. There are a lot of sensitive things in there. We wanted to give it out with an action plan."

Seidenberger also said he didn't want to cause widespread panic in the department, with employees fearing for their jobs.

"There isn't anybody in this district that doesn't know we have a problem in that department," Seidenberger said. "It's not the employees' fault, but we do have to work on it together to solve it."

The TAS audit is a scathing review of the district's troubled transportation system. TAS found that "almost every area" of the system was deficient and recommended that the district privatize bus services because of the extensive number of problems.

Seidenberger said it was "very irresponsible" for someone to release the report to the Bulletin. Only a few people, including him, interim Business Administrator Melindo A Persi and former board member and chairman of the board's transportation committee John Talty, had a draft copy of the report, he said.

"I know that Mel and I didn't release it, and Mr. Talty's name is all over that article," Seidenberger said, referring to a May 17 story on the audit that appeared in the Bulletin.

Seidenberger said that the district already made major changes in the department, even before it received the draft copy of the audit.

"We replaced the leadership in that department because a change was warranted," Seidenberger said. "That spoke volumes in and of itself."

Seidenberger announced in February that William Nardiello, the head of the transportation department, had voluntarily agreed to be transferred to a position in the Maintenance Department, effective July 1.

Board members in April selected Township Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni to take over for Nardiello, at a salary of $85,000 per year. Sangiovanni's first day on the job was May 1. He has declined to comment on the report until it is released publicly.

Other changes are also under way, Persi said.

The district has already purchased bus-routing software, which utilizes global information system technology to make sure the bus routes operate more efficiently, he said.

The auditor also found that the district's bus facility is inadequate for the size of the district, is poorly ventilated and that staffing in the bus maintenance department is inadequate.

"We can only do so much, but we can look at that facility and make it safer," Seidenberger said.

The audit also detailed problems with financial oversight, improper use of assets, unauthorized bus stops and drivers paid full-time wages for less than full-time hours.

Board President Brian DeLuca said last week that he understands Seidenberger's decision not to release the report without an action plan.

He said that he expects the final report and action plan would be ready within the week and that the board will discuss it before it is presented to the public.

"We didn't want everyone to panic," DeLuca said. "We want to deal with each item, and for that we need a definite plan."

Board of Education members hired TAS in November to conduct a full-scale audit of the department, after they received numerous complaints from parents at the start of the school year.

Parents complained about the lack of steady drivers, an unresponsive transportation department and buses that arrived late to school.

A project consultant was on site from Feb. 5 through Feb. 7 to review the key areas of operation.

One of the audit's key findings was no structural financial controls for purchasing, proper authorizations and bid quotes. There were no internal audit functions for payroll, purchasing, paycheck dispersal and attendance, according to the audit.