Pa. audit expanded to review former education secretary

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

An ongoing audit of Pennsylvania’s Department of Education will now also look into certain employees, including Ron Tomalis, the former secretary and special adviser to the governor who resigned under a cloud of criticism in August.

Democratic Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, the state’s top fiscal watchdog, said Wednesday that the in-progress audit would review special advisers, contractors, and short-term employees.

"It’s not just about Mr. Tomalis," said DePasquale. "It’s an issue broadly about are people being hired and they don’t have an actual role to play?"

Tomalis resigned from the post after a newspaper found little evidence that he was working. Gov. Corbett’s administration defended Tomalis’ work, but campaign allies of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf have seized on the issue, saying the lack of clear accomplishments indicates departmental "disarray."

"If there is a pattern of people being put at the Department of Education and they’re not providing value to the students and the families and the taxpayers of this state, that is something that needs to be scrutinized," said DePasquale.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks