Criminal Probe Prompts Purchases Policy Change At Hillsborough Schools

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A policy regarding purchases budgeted for the Hillsborough Township School District is being completely rewritten following an ongoing criminal investigation into the school district's finances by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the Hillsborough Police.

The Board of Education unanimously voted to pass the first reading of Policy 6421 Purchases Budgeted at the Monday night meeting.

"We have a policy already but a recommendation from the district auditor to basically completely redo this policy. If you look at it, board members, the entire policy has been completely struck out. But it was all replaced with the same elements just with different language to better align with our current practices and state code," said Board member and Operations Committee member Gregory Gillette on Monday.

Some key differences between the previous and the amended policy include:

Instead of the Board Secretary/School Business Administrator being authorized to make expenditures and commitments, the new policy states the "School Business Administrator shall authorize all purchases that are within a budget line item and are consistent with the purpose for which the funds were appropriated."

Instead of the Superintendent being the one to determine if a purchase order can be placed, it was changed to "the Business Office."

Additionally, the bid threshold of whenever the estimated value of a purchase or contract for goods or services other than professional services and work by employees of the Board has been lowered from 20 percent to 15 percent when requiring additional quotations.

The policy had first been adopted on Dec. 13, 1971 and was revised on Feb. 19, 1990 and April 22, 1985.

Gillette noted this was "an important policy to have from our auditor."

A second and final reading of the policy is expected to be heard at the Dec. 12 Board of Education meeting.

See the previous and new policies below:

Policy 6421 - Purchases Budgeted 1st Rdg 11.28.22 by Alexis Tarrazi on Scribd

>

A criminal investigation was launched in December 2021 which triggered a number of resignations in the district including Business Administrator Aiman Mahmoud, Assistant Business Administrator Luisa Rodriguez, and most recently Superintendent Dr. Lisa Antunes.

An audit into the Hillsborough Township School District's finances found "multiple instances of concern," said Board of Education President Paul Marini at a previous meeting.

"As you can note from the report there were a number of actions taken over the course of the previous year that were either in conflict with the fine practices, especially as it relates to overtime and bid thresholds," said Marini at the April 26 meeting.

Here is a timeline of events that have unfolded:

On Dec. 20, School Business Administrator Aiman Mahmoud abruptly resigned. Mahmoud had served as School Business Administrator/Board Secretary at the Central Office in Hillsborough since Jan. 21, 2008.

At the same special meeting, the school board also voted to place a Central Office administrative staff member on leave.

On Dec. 22, School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Antunes stepped down for "a short leave of absence, effective immediately." In her place, Assistant schools superintendent Dr. Kim Feltre is now acting superintendent until Antunes returns.

The Board of Education unanimously approved on April 26 a new resolution to approve Antune's paid leave of absence through May 1 and also to approve her resignation effective May 1. Antunes said she is resigning as superintendent "for personal reasons and to pursue other professional opportunities," said Marini.

On Jan. 3, assistant business administrator Luisa Rodriguez resigns effective Jan. 14.

On Jan. 10, the school voted to approve hiring Paul Roth as the new interim business administrator effective Tuesday, Jan. 11. Additionally, the board also voted to sign a contract with Summit Management Solutions Inc. at a rate of $150 per hour.

Marini clarified that Summit Management Solutions would be providing an assistant business administrator along with someone to help the board work on referendum issues.

On Jan. 24, Gerald Eckert was unanimously appointed as the new Business Administrator/Board Secretary by the Board of Education.

Eckert previously served as Assistant Business Administrator in Hillsborough from 2008 through 2014 before serving with the Randolph Public Schools as Business Administrator/Board Secretary.

On May 9, Michele LaFevre was unanimously hired by the Board of Education with a salary of $95,000 for a contract running from 2022 to 2023 to replace Rodriguez.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.