Controller says District could be losing money in TransPass program

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz says that an audit found lax monitoring of student TransPasses during the last school year that could end up costing the District millions.

Butkovitz based the findings on four schools, saying his auditors found that 12 percent of the passes were not properly recorded and could not be accounted for.

By arrangement with SEPTA, the District distributes free weekly TransPasses to students so that they can travel to and from school. To fund the program last year during its budget crisis, the District borrowed $37 million from SEPTA.

This year, it must pay that money back — in addition to finding the money to fund the program again.