Comptroller Stringer Calls on DOE to Reform Shoddy Contracting and Ensure Children Are Protected

Comptroller returned $9.1 billion in school bus contract extensions until DOE explains exploding costs and lack of performance evaluations

Following tragic death caused by DOE school bus, Comptroller once again calls out DOE’s sloppy procurement procedures

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer sent a letter to Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza calling on DOE to reform sloppy procurement procedures that risk children’s health and safety in the wake of a DOE school bus tragically killing a 10-year-old girl. The Comptroller demanded answers about DOE’s persistent refusal to use rigorous and regular performance evaluations to ensure taxpayers are getting the services they pay for and that safety procedures are followed. Comptroller Stringer also raised alarms about DOE’s consistent failure to abide by even the most basic procurement protocols. In December, Comptroller Stringer returned $9.1 billion in school bus contract extensions after DOE failed to satisfactorily explain ballooning spending.

“When it comes to the education of our children, every penny counts. The DOE’s careless approach to managing how our children get to and from school is an outrage, plain and simple,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Parents deserve transparency, accountability, and absolute confidence in the buses that transport our children, but the DOE’s rubber-stamp attitude toward procurement jeopardizes our tax dollars and does a massive disservice to our students. The City’s ability to deliver the education students deserve is compromised when precious dollars are doled out to vendors whose performance has not been properly reviewed. I’m calling on DOE to explain its failures and finally reform its contracting policies. New Yorkers are tired of the excuses—our children deserve far better.”

The letter builds on the Comptroller’s record of shining a light on opaque DOE procurement, including audits in 2015 and 2017 revealing pervasive weaknesses in DOE’s contracting procedures and an audit showing DOE fails to adequately track driver suspensions.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s letter to DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza, click here