Letter: Investigate School Aid Gaffe

*Local Ken Heard emailed his open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo requesting a state audit of the district and it's building aid clerical error to Patch.

I am a resident of Smithtown, NY, one of four negligent Long Island districts that failed to file the necessary paperwork for millions of dollars of school district aid. Over the past several months, I have heard school district officials and state politicians trivialize the loss, leaving the erroneous perception that aid will be fully restored by next year. Others have made lame excuses, claiming that the district got it right in 70 filings over the past decade and deserve a pass on this $14 million dollar error.

Several months ago, the district hired an independent auditor to uncover how this error occurred. The district will not make [the audit results] available until October 31st.

In the meantime, rumors reign supreme. The superintendent says that the culpable party no longer works for the district, while others say this person is a scapegoat.

I further object to a local independent auditor being retained and compensated by the same district he is investigating.

I therefore request an arms length state investigation of the Smithtown School District to determine how this district managed to lose $14 million dollars in state aid. That's $3 million dollars during the first year and $700,000 each year over the next 15 years.

Governor, I am old enough the remember when public officials took responsibility for their actions. For example, in 1958, White House Chief of Staff Sherman Adams admitted that he accepted a gift of a vicuña coat from a textile manufacture who was under investigation. President Eisenhower fired him. Why should a school district be permitted to make excuses by trivializing the loss of $14 million dollars?

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.

–Ken Heard