Sussex Tech places top administrators on leave

In the wake of an audit of Sussex Technical School District, top administrators with the district have been put on paid leave.

Sussex Tech school board President Pat Cooper would not comment on which administrators were affected by the decision.

A statement released by the district states Sussex Tech High School Principal John Demby and Assistant Principal John Sell are running the day-to-day operations of the district.

“The board of education voted on June 12, 2017, to place senior administrators on adminstrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation into matters raised in the Auditor of Accounts' report issued June 9, 2017,” the statement reads. “No further details will be provided in order to protect the privacy of personnel.”

Superintendent A.J. Lathbury could not be reached for comment.

In the June audit, the Auditor’s Office reviewed nearly $4 million in expenditures paid to Common Sense Solutions LLC of Laurel from 2011 through 2016, uncovering an overall lack of documentation for invoices, numerous state budget and accounting violations, avoidance of fair procurement processes, and conflicts of interest. The Auditor’s Office identified 105 payment vouchers totaling more than $900,000 that appeared to have been managed so as to stay below thresholds that require purchase orders and competitive bidding. Delaware State Auditor Tom Wagner initiated the audit following an anonymous phone call in 2014.

Before the latest audit was released, Cooper said Sussex Technical School District would no longer use the services of CSS, owned by Michael Horsey of Laurel. Horsey was also the center of a previous audit released in December 2016 that questioned construction contracts and payments.

“That was planned,” he said. “They're done.”

Horsey could not be reached for comment.

On June 9, Sussex Tech School District issued a statement saying its contract with CSS will end June 30.

“There are no further plans to utilize CSS's [construction management] services beyond that point,” the district stated.

The audit states CSS was initially hired to perform contract management services that totaled more than $1.8 million, but the audit found CSS was paid more than $2 million more for additional construction-related services – with many expenditures made without proper review and approvals.

In addition, it states, former Director of Facilities Terry Little, who retired from Sussex Tech in 2015, was subsequently employed by CSS as project coordinator and liaison for Sussex Tech projects. The audit states the projects were the same contracts Little awarded to CSS and managed when employed by Sussex Tech.

The report found Sussex Tech school board failed to enforce fiscal policies and procedures, and that many expenditures had not been properly scrutinized. The report states the school board trusted Sussex Tech administrators to make decisions on construction projects without the board's involvement, creating a lack of accountability.

The auditor’s report found these practices and violations were still occurring as of June 9, and CSS continues to gain contracts from Sussex Tech.

The latest audit comes about six months after a school construction audit raised similar concerns about CSS. The December 2016 audit said the board never approved about $68,000 to Common Sense Solutions to renovate a shop and make improvements to storm drains.

The audit also noted there were 23 change orders in fiscal year 2016 totaling more than $180,000 that were not approved by the school board. The audit states Tech's policy is in violation of Delaware Department of Education School Construction Technical Assistance Manual policies, which say a school board must approve and document changes to construction projects and then submit written approval to the Department of Education.

Cooper said the school board corrected the approval process in early 2017.

Horsey was also at the table in 2013 when Sussex Tech School District attended a Preliminary Land Use Service meeting in Dover. At the meeting with PLUS officials, he discussed four parcels of land the district was considering to buy in order to construct a new high school.

In a statement posted on the Sussex Tech website, district officials said shrinking staff has been an issue with operating the district.

“Decreases in personnel over the years have led to many individuals wearing various hats and/or splitting job duties. This has presented challenges as all were learning and continue to learn their role and responsibilities. Sussex Technical School District will continue to do the best job possible while serving our community.”