The Comptroller of Puerto Rico publishes the result of an investigation arising from a complaint about the distribution of computers and backpacks to the students of the SU Pedro Rivera Molina School in Juncos.
The investigation revealed that 300 DELL Latitude 3190 laptop computers were received with their respective backpacks at a cost of $208,500, to be distributed to the students of the school facility. The then director in 2020 delegated the distribution to the librarian and other personnel, and instructed that the delivery of backpacks be stopped because she understood there were not enough.
The librarian delegated for the distribution and control of the inventory indicated that he was not trained to manage the Horizon platform that the Department of Education had contracted to record the deliveries of computer equipment to the students and teaching personnel in 2020
On a visit in 2022, the auditors found an indeterminate quantity of laptops stored, exposed to damage, deterioration and with the risk that over time they would become obsolete. In addition, the then director certified that 182 backpacks had not been delivered and presented 196 copies of valid receipts of the delivery of the 300 laptops.
The investigation concluded that the school had received more laptops than it needed. Neither the administration of the Pedro Rivera Molina school nor the Humacao Educational Regional Office made efforts to use the excess equipment in other schools. In addition, the school had no evidence of the delivery to students or their parents of the remaining 104 Dell laptops. This represents an investment of $72,280 whose return could not be verified.
These situations evidence the lack of adequate controls in the receipt, custody and distribution of the equipment, and increase the risk of thefts, disappearance, and the loss of public funds.
The Report recommends to the secretary of Education to issue instructions to the regional superintendents so that they establish a work plan that validates: the number of students enrolled, the delivery of equipment to students or their parents, that the equipment be used for the educational purpose, and that inventories be carried out to detect possible surpluses that can be used in other schools, among others.
See Audit Report OC-24-10.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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