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Penn Hills School District Audit To Reveal Millions Wasted In Mismanagement

PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- Stunning allegations are expected to come at a news conference Wednesday morning in Penn Hills.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale will reveal details of a performance audit of the Penn Hills School District, which is nearly bankrupt and is an estimated $19 million in the hole.

KDKA has learned that DePasquale's audit will reveal millions of dollars wasted in mismanagement and even possible theft from the district.

He'll call for an investigation by the Allegheny County District Attorney.

Penn Hills residents told KDKA -TV's Ralph Iannotti Tuesday night they hope they get some straight answers.

"I want them to get to the bottom of it," Kim Sewel said. "How did Penn Hills get in this situation?"

Another Penn Hills resident, Sheldon Arrington, said, "To find out all the problems they were having financially, and to see some of the things they've been doing, it's very disappointing."

The district has already put a halt to one of its longtime practices, which some say no doubt contributed to its financial crisis. It stopped selling fuel to the municipality last fall. It would fuel up police cars, fire trucks and ambulances at the district bus garage on Saltsburg Road.

The ban on gasoline sales was imposed after the auditor general said the practice of fueling up Penn Hills vehicles, which had been going on for decades, was not permitted under state law.

The former Penn Hills School District business manager, Richard Liberto, was first placed on leave and then later fired by the School Board last year. He said that the financial mess was the result of the district's refusal to rein in spending. He said he tried to sound the alarm numerous times.

When he was fired, school board members said the business office, under Liberto's leadership, lacked accountability.

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