School Athletic Directors Hiring Relatives
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Sometimes I feel that the only ones trying to cleanse the ethically challenged Broward Schools is Chief Auditor Patrick Reilly and his staff.
Although they work for the system, Reilly’s team has been fearless in pointing out waste.
They’ve done it again!
This time it’s not a lot of cash. But it is once more indicative of how some school employees violate the system’s own rules.
Auditors were looking at how cash was handled at 10 high school football programs during September and October 2012.
Earlier I wrote about how the programs played fast and loose with cash. That post is here.
In addition to the lax handling of money at games, auditors found some athletic directors were hiring their relatives. That violates School Board anti-nepotism policies.
In the probe, auditors found:
- The wife of the Athletic Director at one school was paid $940 as an “athletic events worker” for the year ending June 30, 2012. The same director also paid himself an additional $510 as an “athletics events worker” during the same period of time.
- The son of another Athletic Director was paid $905 as an “athletics events worker” for the year ending June 30, 2011.
- The daughter of a third school’s assistant Athletics Director, who was in charge of the “athletic events workers,” was paid $545 for the same year’s work.
- The wife of an Athletic Director at a fourth school was paid $230.
School Board Policy 4002.10 relating to nepotism forbids a School District employee from being “directly supervised” by a relative. It also forbids an employee from participating in “any personnel action” for a relative, including “recommendation for appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, advancement or evaluation.”
Noting the rule, auditors recommended that Athletic Directors or others in the athletic departments “refrain” from hiring and paying relatives.
Duh.
No punishment? I wonder if a note is even put in their permanent record?
Reilly’s folks have only done a cursory study of one sport — football — at only a few high schools.
Athletics has a lot of cash floating around and a lot of freedom given athletic directors and coaches. For that reason and because Reilly’s initial audit found abuses, the athletics programs cry out for a more comprehensive audit.
For instance, one wonders how much of this nepotism is going on.
Are these four instances outliers? Or are they just the tip of the iceberg?
I’m putting my money on Reilly and his team to get the answer.
April 17th, 2013 at 3:18 pm
All the hiring at the schools are done through nepotism. They have ignored that rule for years. Wives, husbands and children are hired on the recommendation of each other. They supposedly have a competitive process which is a joke since anybody can tell you who will get the job before it is posted.
April 17th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
The School Board should have a policy that requires all personnel that have hiring ability to sign the anti-nepotism policy, which contains a provision that if such personnel violates the policy their position will be terminated for cause, and all amounts paid must be returned.
April 17th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Hey Buddy:
My friend Dave told me that Chief Auditor Patrick Reilly hired my buddy Jeraldo Usullan without any advertisement, which FYI is a violation of School Board policy.
Is that NEPOTISM OR CRONYISM??
April 17th, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Hi Bro Paul Nice to see you back!!
Look when I was working for the District Mr. Reilly picked on me for my legitimate overtime payment. Now guess what? He himself has engaged in the similar practice. What an Irony? Where is Ms. Greenburg? Is she sleeping?
Now I feel that my case was total hypocrisy.
April 18th, 2013 at 12:16 am
Even when there isn’t direct nepotism, i.e., employees hiring or directly supervising their relatives, there is/was still too much coziness in the district, such as a School Board investigator investigating events at his principal/wife’s school; and let’s not even go there with what had occurred in the Facilities Dept. a few years back…
BTW, does the audit name names or schools? Inquiring minds want to know.
April 18th, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Hi there! OK, let’s begin with the canard that the position wasn’t advertised. It was indeed advertised and people were interviewed. Sorry whoever wrote the blog didn’t get the job, but that’s how it goes.
Next case. The caper had SIU involved as well as an audit. Go on the district’s website and find the Audit of Facilities and Construction Management done in 2010. It tells the real story.
April 18th, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Sorry, forgot to add that all audits have the names of the schools and principals. Others are identified by position.
April 18th, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Ms. Greenbarg:
The way you are praising the audit/chief auditor that it looks like he is the only saint in town? Your blind support for the Chief Auditor reminded me the word “yellow activism” like “yellow journalism”.
Something is really wrong with you!
April 19th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Oh, my, Anonymous, aren’t you the angry one? Let’s have a guessing game to see who can uncover your real identity, which of course if revealed, would be rather awkward for you.
I remember the same kind of attacks by people defending a board member who ended up in federal prison.
April 20th, 2013 at 2:26 pm
Charlotte’s support of Mr. Reilly is not blind. Charlotte is an upright, extremely ethical, highly intelligent person who is very generous in giving her time and energy to improve our community. We are all very fortunate that she is willing to work for our benefit. The same can be said of Mr. Reilly, and we owe him many thanks for all his labor on behalf of taxpayers. I always find that people who attack either Ms. Greenbarg or Mr. Reilly sound really stupid. Or really corrupt.
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:08 am
Broward Bugle @BrowardBugle
Leon Co. State’s Attorney gets complaint against Sen. Maria Sachs for filing false statement in residence ruse – a felony