A report from Massachusetts’ state auditor blasts the agency that had overseen the state’s school-construction-assistance program for allegedly wasting millions of dollars and providing weak oversight.
Joe DeNucci, the state auditor, found that a lack of adequate financial and human resources prevented the School Building Assistance Program, which has been run by the state department of education since 1965, from providing proper oversight of construction costs. The audit said that the department missed opportunities to save as much as $20.5 million in annual payments by failing to challenge estimates of final costs.
Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, signed legislation in July that moved responsibility for the program from the education department to a new School Building Authority overseen by the state treasurer. The authority faces a backlog of 425 school projects with a price tag of more than $4 billion.
