DOE advisers wasted millions

DOE advisers wasted millions, audit finds

By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, 3/22/2001

onsultants working for the Department of Education's technology division used state money to pay for flowers, Christmas parties, and, in one case, to fix a windshield, according to a state audit released yesterday.

Education officials allowed the consultants, who were supposed to be revamping the department's computer systems and technology programs, to hire additional workers and process expenses for the department. The consultants then charged the state extra money. Those practices, which cost the state about $3.9 million, may be illegal.

The audit also found about $5 million in questionable or undocumented expenses. All told, the department may have wasted as much as $9 million, according to auditors.

The audit details problems outlined in a November report by the Office of Administration and Finance. The Education Department has since severed ties with two consulting firms and forced two DOE employees to resign.

''The most striking thing is the use of consultants as fiscal conduits, not only for hiring (technology) people there, but for paying expenses. In effect, they almost take these things off the state books,'' said Glenn Briere, a spokesman for State Auditor Joseph DeNucci.

''The consultants were allowed to run the show, and there wasn't a lot of management oversight in the Department of Education,'' he said.

The audit also found that DOE broke the law by allowing consultants to supervise state employees; that 10 consultants were paid for working holidays, when all state offices were closed; and that the consultants billed the state for more than $194,000 worth of training and conferences - even though they were hired as technology experts.

It would be up to the Office of Administration and Finance to mete out any penalties, Briere said.

Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll acknowledged the department's mistakes.

''The good news is that we stayed within budget. It's just that we were clearly utilizing these third-party vendors in a way that was beyond the usual rules,'' he said yesterday.