Attleboro School District Audited by Inspector General, Committee Members Say

The may have been audited by the Massachusetts Inspector General's Office, according to two members of the Attleboro School Committee, Brenda Furtado and Teri Enegren.

The alleged audit comes after the r, Marc Furtado, about contract negotiations with a private bus company, Bloom Bus Company, which was hired to transport students to and from school. 

On Friday, Marc Furtado would only say that the school district had not been audited. Superintendent Pia Durkin could not be reached for comment.

According to Brenda Furtado, Mark Furtado announced during a public committee meeting that the district was to be audited Thursday. Brenda Furtado said the audit was never brought to the attention of members of the finance subcommittee.

"Mr. Marc Furtado mentioned it to newly elected officials, but the finance subcommittee was not aware of it," she said.

The Massachusetts Inspector General's Office would not confirm or deny that there was an audit conducted Thursday.

Attleboro School Committee's Teri Enegren said she repeatedly asked Mark Furtado, Durkin and Chairman Ray DiCiaccio for information regarding the bus contract, but that her requests were ignored until she filed an official request for public information. Specifically, Enegren wanted to know whether the company was in breach of contract since two of its buses were beyond the age limit agreed upon in the contract. Enegren also wanted to know whether the terminal manager had the qualifications specified in the contract.

Enegren's request reportedly yielded more than 17 emails involving Durkin, DiCiaccio and Furtado and Mark Bloom, of the bus company.

In an October 13 email from Marc Furtado to Mark Bloom, Furtado tells Bloom "the tax thing is getting legs and getting ugly...the school committee is now involved as well we should talk at your earliest convenience." In his email to Bloom, Furtado also tells Bloom to which is Patch's Oct. 12 story about a $20,000 tax bill sent to the School Department for allowing Bloom Bus Company to park its school buses on city-owned property.

In his email to Bloom, Marc Furtado includes a forwarded message from Attleboro City Council Administrator Linda Alger inviting Marc Furtado and other department heads to Committee meeting.

Along with details of the $20,000 tax debacle, Enegren says she questioned Furtado about the buses. Furtado reportedly confirmed that two buses in use to transport Attleboro students are beyond the number of years agreed upon in the contract between the district and the bus company. The contract states that 2003 is the cut-off period and yet two of the more than 20 buses were older than 2003.

Enegren said she does not think it was okay that the district entered into a $5 million contract, which was not complied with, and that no one is asking for a rebate.

"It's not okay," she said. "It's taxpayer money."

Enegren said she blames some of the communication issues between the school committee and the school administration on DiCiaccio.

"His job description is to set the the agenda, run meetings and support the committee," Enegren said of the chairman. "You are only as strong as your weakest link and he is our weakest link."

DiCiaccio, however, said Enegren needs to focus on the kids of Attleboro and not on a contract that will expire in six months.