Investigation reveals BPS improperly spent more than $857K in public funds

A state investigation found Boston Public Schools improperly spent more than $857,000 in public funds, violating Massachusetts law, a report released Wednesday by the Office of the Inspector General shows. 

Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro called on BPS officials to pause payments to vendors for “non-essential goods and services” for 10 business days and conduct an internal review after the investigation following the investigation into the district’s contracting and procurement practices from 2019 through 2024, per the report. 

“Every school district in this Commonwealth must abide by the same rules when purchasing goods and services. Those rules help ensure fairness and transparency in the expenditure of the public’s money,” Shapiro said in a statement. “The fact that a district with the staffing and budget of Boston could not perform basic procurement functions is astonishing.”

The investigation was launched after Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said it received multiple complaints about the BPS Division of Operations’ contracting and procurement practices. 

One set of complaints involved invoice payments that were funneled through “existing but unrelated contracts to compensate unpaid vendors,” the OIG said. Another involved “excessive shipping charges” on a single contract for books. 

“Given that the OIG’s investigation was confined to the handful of BPS contracts identified through complaints, it is apparent that this conduct is more widespread and represents a serious risk to BPS funds,” Shapiro said. 

Evidence revealed that staff members at BPS bypassed the city’s residency requirement for a former BPS engineer by utilizing false subcontracting relationships, the OIG said.

The OIG also said BPS officials took “little to no action” after the Boston Finance Commission, an independent watchdog agency for the city, alerted the district to some of the alleged misconduct. 

The report said BPS’s process for approving vendor invoices created extended payment delays and, in some cases, resulted in vendors not being paid. Those delays, the OIG said, contributed to staff cutting corners in the procurement process. 

BPS incurred nearly $78,000 in extra costs due to the markups, the report states.

The OIG found that BPS violated the Uniform Procurement Act, Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws. 

The violations included failing to solicit price quotes or issue invitations for bids for certain supplies and services valued at $10,000 or more, as well as failing to enter into written contracts when required. 

In another instance, the OIG said the district subverted the competitive procurement process by steering a water-quality testing contract to a vendor so the district could pay the vendor’s outstanding invoices. 

“All public officials and employees have a duty to protect the public’s resources from fraud, waste, and abuse,” Shapiro said. “The people of Boston and the Boston Public School community deserve nothing less.”

In a statement shared with Boston.com, a BPS spokesperson noted that the report examined activity from 2019 through 2024. 

In the two years since the OIG first raised concerns, BPS and its operations leadership have “implemented a number of business reforms to streamline payment and contracting systems,” the spokesperson said. 

BPS said it has also removed employees and hired new leaders into procurement roles, while also reducing its use of sole-source contracts.

“The City and the District will carefully review the report’s findings and develop a plan to fully implement the recommendations,” the spokesperson said. “Our goal is continuous operational improvements, and we are fully committed to strengthen[ing] our ability to deliver a high-quality education for every student across Boston.”