Albany, NY- Misused money: an audit does the math, and finds a former local school superintendent charged his district for strip club visits, and hotel rooms.
For a second time, the State Comptroller’s Office accuses the former Voorheesville school superintendent of misusing district money.
A January audit found that former Superintendent Alan McCartney, and his former assistant superintendent, improperly paid themselves more than 200-thousand dollars. No charges were ever filed.
Now, another audit finds the former super also charged thousands in personal expenses, including a night at a local strip club, and reimbursements for conferences that never happened.
The first audit of the Voorheesville School District raised a few more questions, and prompted the second audit, released Thursday.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily illegal,” says Deputy Comptroller Mark Pattison. “It’s certainly not proper.”
According to the audit, McCartney was reimbursed 11,500 dollars for expenses they consider inappropriate, including 1100 dollars in reimbursed travel expenses for conferences – conferences their office could not verify ever happened.
The audit also found: 145 dollars for a hotel stay, just 12 miles from McCartney’s home. And that same night, 357 dollars dropped at a local strip joint. McCartney did reimburse the district for that.
“Because it’s salacious, I think it undermines people’s trust in public institutions,” Pattison says.
Other expenses included another 770 dollars in meals for himself and three board members in one day. The federal rate is less than a quarter what he spent.
And while 800 dollars in personal charitable donations is a good gesture, McCartney only reimbursed the district for 150 dollars.
“Taxpayers dollars come dearly, and they need to be going toward the education of the children…not these types of expenses,” says Pattison.
NEWS10’s Jeff Stoecker went to McCartney’s home Thursday, to ask him about the comptroller’s latest audit. But the person who answered the door at his residence said McCartney was not home, and shut the door.
We received a written response from the district, in which Superintendent Linda Langevin says McCartney was trusted.
“Now that appears to have been violated,” Langevin says. “The district is seeking full restitution from Dr. McCartney.”
Meanwhile, the district is taking corrective steps to make sure in the future, taxpayer dollars go where they belong.