By Nick Mattera
Time’s Square for breakfast, midtown Manhattan for lunch, So-Ho for dinner.
All courtesy of the taxpayer.
A review of receipts from a Niagara Falls School District funded trip shows how district officials spent more than $18,000 over three days at the New York State School Board Association Conference in Manhattan.
The receipts obtained by the Niagara Gazette would not be required for submission if the district moves ahead with a new travel policy currently being considered by the board.
The receipts collected show board member Nicholas Vilardo spent $56 at Tolcahe, a Mexican bistro located at the heart of New York’s theater district while board members and district employees attended the Oct. 15-18 conference.
Long-time board member Don king defended the expenses, calling the trip a unique opportunity for the district’s board members to become “better”.
“The trip is a good investment,” King said. “We gain necessary information that in the long-run will save the district dollars.”
Unlike his colleagues, King spent less than $10 a day on food, spending his money at local delicatessens, instead of expensive upscale restaurants.
Conversely, Vilardo, teacher Nancy Sarkees and a guest dined at Carmine’s located at 200 W. 44 St., where they enjoyed a $16.50 stuffed artichoke, $29 veal parmigiana and $28.50 for penne ala vodka for dinner. For dessert, a $13.50 chocolate torte and $7 half cannoli was ordered. The total bill came to $134.32 including a $20 tip.
Vilardo said the district only reimbursed $90 as the third member of the party was not an employee of the district. He defended the expenses, saying the trip is a good learning tool for the board and shows where they stack up with other districts across the state.
“This story is ridiculous,” Vilardo told a Niagara Gazette reporter. “We are going away to be educated and coming back to pass the knowledge on to the rest of the district.”
In last year’s state-sponsored audit, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli harshly criticized the district for lax record-keeping involving travel expenses. A representative of DiNapoli reiterated that concern Wednesday.
“These are taxpayer dollars and it is Comptroller DiNapoli’s responsibility to protect them. Comptroller DiNapoli’s audit of the Niagara Falls School District last year identified credit card usage as an area that needed significant improvement,” Emily Desantis, a representative from DiNapoli’s office, said in an interview with the Gazette. “Unless there is a per diem arrangement, such as the one developed by the federal government, it is important for travel credit card purchases paid for with school tax dollars to have adequate documentation demonstrating that the charges are for district business and that they are reasonable in price.”
District Business Administrator Tim Hyland said the new policy the district plans to adopt would not call for receipts to be submitted for meals, however, they would be required for lodging and transportation.
“The meals would be on a per diem basis,” Hyland said. “The rates would come directly from the state comptroller’s handbook, as was something adopted from the federal government.”
Hyland added that the premise behind not requiring receipts is the savings it would bring to the district from an auditing standpoint.
If the policy is approved, board member Bob Kazeangin’s $42 dinner at Shorty’s 32 located at 199 Prince St. in the SoHo district of the city would not become public information. Neither would the $23 breakfast at the 810 Deli on 7th Avenue.
The state comptroller’s office has set statewide rates for per diem meal allowances based on the location of the districts travel — $71 a day being the highest possible allowance and $46 being the lowest.
Although the future policy would not require Kazeangin to report his meal’s, he would still be forced to report any transportation and lodging expenses like the $76 spent for a private car from the Sheraton New York Hotel and Tower’s to JFK airport.
He also charged $33.93 for the carpark at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and a $30 extra bag to JetBlue for the three-day conference.
When phoned Wednesday, a person answering said Kazeagin was unable to comment because he had just had surgery.
Hyland said while the district could set a per diem rate across the board, it is only choosing to do so for meal costs.
“This is something new to the district and the board will have to digest everything before voting on the issue,” Hyland said.
The conference attendees also included board members Vincent Cancemi and Carmelette Rotella, District Clerk Ruthel Dumas, Superintendant Cynthia Bianco and District Administrator Carol Gold. The travelers stayed at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers from three to four nights costing $708 to $944 per person. Gold did not accept the funds for lodging, due to having family living in the area.
Petrozzi said that he cannot speak for each of his colleagues, but hopes that they are doing their diligence in policing themselves.
“You have to remember New York City is a different animal, costs are crazy and sometimes it’s just hard,” Petrozzi said.
Vilardo agreed, saying New York is an expensive city, adding that to his knowledge, none of his colleagues took advantage of the system.
“Nobody abused anything,” he said. “The conference is a worthwhile and educational endeavor that gives the board the ability to gain knowledge to bring home to our kids.”
The district will discuss the policy at today’s agenda review session and will vote on the policy at a later date.
Other district costs included airfare that ranged from $149 to $334, taxi cab fees and room service costs. They break down as follows:
• Total airfare cost $1,837
• Total Amtrak cost $184
• Total lodging cost $6,866
• Total room service cost $31.66 charged to Dumas, $71.53 charged to Bianco
Petrozzi said the trip was in the school district’s budget and added that there is a state and national school boards conference and he makes it a priority to attended at least one of them.
The NYSSBA is a statewide organization that represents more than 700 boards of education across the state. The conference is a way to bring the more than 5,000 board members in New York together in one venue to compare and contrast different ideas.
District Freedom of Information officer Phil Mohr said there is no timeframe in which the receipts need to be received and that the Gazette had only been provided with the ones available.
