Ex-Jeannette school superintendent took junket from vendor, audit states
The former superintendent of the Jeannette School District accepted a trip to a California conference in January 2017 that was paid for by a vendor who sold the district $4,350 in math computer software that the superintendent had authorized without board approval, a state audit revealed Tuesday.
Former superintendent Matthew Hutcheson and his wife, a classroom assistant in Jeannette, took the trip to Irvine, Calif. for a three-day math conference.
State Auditor General Eugene A. DePasquale said their airfare and accommodations were paid for by a vendor, which was not identified in the audit.
The full audit report did not specify the amount of money the vendor allegedly paid for the Hutchesons’ trip.
Hutcheson and his wife’s acceptance of the free trip from the vendor may have violated the state’s ethics code, DePasquale said. The failure to obtain school board approval for the purchase of the software in August 2016 may have violated the state’s Public School Code, he stated.
The findings will be referred to the state Ethics Commission.
“School officials should not personally benefit in any way from decisions they make in their leadership positions,” DePasquale said.
Hutcheson could not be reached for comment.
The audit found Hutcheson did not consult with the math department before buying the software. According to the report, the district was using another software and the one bought by Hutcheson was never used.
“The former superintendent essentially took $4,350 out of the Jeannette City School District classrooms, because students never benefited from the purchase,” DePasquale said.
The 29-page audit criticized the school board for approving in January 2017 the trip by Hutcheson and his wife, without questioning it. The school board failed in its governance duties to prevent public school code and curriculum violations, the auditor general said.
Dr. David J. Valerio Jr., school board president, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
“Taxpayer money should be used to give students the best quality education possible and not to earn trips for district officials and their spouses,” DePasquale said.
Hutcheson, who was hired by the district in 2011, took a leave of absence the same day the district received a letter announcing the start of the state audit. The date was not available from the state.
He announced his retirement in September 2017, effective in April . The former superintendent left the district without giving auditors a chance to discuss the findings, the auditor general stated.
Matthew Jones was named superintendent in July. He has been a faculty member and administrator at Jeannette for 20 years.
The audit also found Jeannette did not keep adequate source documents to verify $1 million in transportation reimbursements from the state Education Department for the 2012-13 through the 2015-16 school years.
The report states Jeannette incorrectly reported to the state the number of nonpublic school students transported, which resulted in over-payments of $30,800 in supplemental transportation reimbursements.
The report states school district officials said Hutcheson relied on the district’s transportation contractor to provide detailed transportation data to the district. The contractor was unable to provide complete data supporting the information submitted to Education Department, according to the report.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.
