MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
Katonah-Lewisboro School District
BY MARCI HEPPNER
Reading from a prepared statement at Tuesday's board of education meeting, Bruce Pavalow said that Robert Meyer, Robert Dixon, and he were the school board members who contacted the New York State comptroller's office regarding alleged unlawful activities by a school district employee. He said the trio met with representatives of the state attorney general and comptroller on Jan. 20. That meeting led to a letter from the comptroller received by the district office earlier this month informing the administration that Mr. Hevesi's office had begun an inquiry into some of the district's affairs and requesting several documents relating to certain financial transactions.
Mr. Pavalow said that the reason he denied speaking with representatives from the comptroller's office at the board's April 5 meeting is that the representative from the attorney general's office had told the three men to not discuss the meeting with anyone.
"Not wanting to hinder their work, we complied," Mr. Pavalow said.
Mr. Pavalow said he received a letter dated July 13, 2004, alleging the wrongdoing and requesting that he make the accusations public at the board's next meeting.
"Since I could not verify these allegations, I decided to not pursue the matter," he said.
He received a second letter on Oct. 7, 2004, and said he ignored it as well, since it didn't provide any proof.
Mr. Pavalow said that on Oct. 26, 2004, the three attended a live teleconference conducted by commissioner of education Richard Mills and comptroller Hevesi, "Using Accountability to Build Public Trust," which covered how board members can recognize warning signs or "red flags" of potential wrongdoing.
"As defined by comptroller Hevesi, a red flag is a set of circumstances that are unusual in nature or vary from normal activity," Mr. Pavalow said. "Red flags do not indicate guilt or innocence, but merely provide possible warning signs of fraud."
He said Mr. Hevesi advised that once a red flag is identified, school boards must take action. Mr. Pavalow said he subsequently discovered that one of the allegations in the letters had merit.
"Considering what I had learned at the Mills/Hevesi teleconference, it was now clear that I had the moral responsibility and legal obligation to consider these letters more seriously," he said.
Mr. Pavalow said last that November he learned that similar letters had been sent to Mr. Dixon, Mr. Meyer, board president Don Scott, and board member Peter Breslin. According to Mr. Pavalow, when Mr. Dixon received his letter, he contacted the comptroller's office to ask what steps to take in response. Mr. Dixon was told to contact Mr. Scott or the board as a whole or to contact the division of investigations.
"At the Nov. 23, 2004, school board meeting held at the John Jay High School library, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Meyer, and I overheard Mr. Breslin, who had apparently also received a letter, ask Mr. Scott how to proceed," Mr. Pavalow said. "Mr. Scott informed Mr. Breslin that he usually ignores them and/or throws them away"
In light of Mr. Scott's comment, Mr. Pavalow said he believed discussing the letters with the president or board would be ineffective and his only option was to contact the attorney general's office for direction, whereupon he was instructed to forward the letters to the attorney general's office.
According to Mr. Pavalow, on Jan. 17 the attorney general's office contacted Mr. Meyer, asking him to gather information for their review at the joint meeting with the comptroller's office on Jan. 20.
Mr. Pavalow said that on April 1, when the three men learned the comptroller's office had contacted the school district, they asked for a special executive session of the board to learn if the inquiry was as a result of the letters or because of something revealed by the district's auditor; however, instead of being discussed in executive session, the matter was put on the agenda for the April 5 meeting.
Mr. Pavalow said his hope is that when all is said and done, the district will be found to be operating properly.
At the conclusion of Mr. Pavalow's statement, Mr. Scott said he had not received any letters tipping him off to any wrongdoing. He added that in his conversation with Mr. Breslin, which Mr. Pavalow overheard, Mr. Breslin did not characterize the nature of the letter.
"I was told by Mr. Breslin that he got an anonymous letter at home, and I said, `I get anonymous letters, too, and normally they're of a personal attack nature,' so that is what I was referring to when I told him I normally ignore them," Mr. Scott said.
A fractured board of education
The school board has been divided on a number of issues for the past year or two, usually with Mr. Pavalow, Mr. Meyer, and Mr. Dixon being voted down on motions they have raised, and the result is that frustrations abound and public distrust is building.
Board member Brent Hailpern said Tuesday he is glad his term is up in June because of the manner in which Mr. Pavalow, Mr. Meyer, and Mr. Dixon conducted themselves regarding an issue that warranted consultation with their fellow board members.