Overpayments lead to questions

Auditors are meeting today with school officials.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The New Castle School District has made "significant and unexplained" overpayments to its transportation company, according to state Rep. Frank LaGrotta.
The Ellwood City Democrat, whose district includes southern Lawrence County, but not New Castle, in a news release Wednesday said that sources from inside the Pennsylvania Auditor General's office gave him the information from a preliminary audit of the district's transportation contract with Laidlaw Transit of New Castle.
"I want to emphasize that these results are preliminary, and the school district will be given an opportunity to explain the apparent inconsistencies to the auditors ...," LaGrotta said.
There was no dollar amount listed in the release.
Schools Superintendent George Gabriel said the meeting with auditors is planned for today.
"I can't really comment. We haven't gotten any written reports or had any meaningful dialogue," Gabriel said Wednesday afternoon.
Requested audit
LaGrotta's release says he asked Auditor General Jack Wagner to audit the school after a series of stories appeared in the press about Affordable Housing of Lawrence County.
The majority of the Affordable Housing board members resigned last month after the group changed its direction from building new housing for people with disabilities to buying current homes in New Castle and remodeling them. The group took out a $250,000 bank loan to buy the homes.
Four of the seven homes were owned by Nick DeRosa, assistant schools superintendent. Two others were owned by his cousin, Harry DeRosa. Nick DeRosa informed school board members last week that he will return when his contract ends this summer.
Lawrence County commissioners have questioned Affordable Housing board members about why they paid far more than the county assessed values on some of the properties.
Karen DeCarlo, a New Castle councilwoman and a manager at Laidlaw Transit, was one of the Affordable Housing board members who resigned.
'No hard evidence'
"I had no hard evidence that any wrongdoing had occurred," LaGrotta said. "But, in light of the perceptions of impropriety created by the news stories on Affordable Housing and its activities, I thought it was very important that taxpayers receive reassurance from the state that their tax dollars were being properly utilized."
DeCarlo said Wednesday she had not received any information that there had been any overpayment by the school district to Laidlaw.
She added that she is not involved in contract negotiations with the school district and referred questions to her supervisor in Greensburg, Pa. Calls to that office were not returned.
Gabriel promised to reveal more information about the audit report after his meeting with auditors.
cioffi@vindy.com