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Pa. auditor general starts new audit of Education Dept.

State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that he was initiating another audit of the state Department of Education to review oversight of contractors and consultants, including a former adviser to Gov. Corbett who allegedly was a "ghost" employee.

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. (File photo)
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. (File photo)Read more

State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that he was initiating another audit of the state Department of Education to review oversight of contractors and consultants, including a former adviser to Gov. Corbett who allegedly was a "ghost" employee.

Ron Tomalis resigned his $140,000-a-year job as a higher-education adviser to Corbett in August amid accusations that he had done little to earn the money, but DePasquale said the controversy "was not the only factor in the undertaking of the audit," his second of the department.

Corbett defended Tomalis after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that he hadn't done much since taking the job after resigning as education secretary in May 2013 - while keeping the same salary.

The administration maintains that Tomalis, a former education consultant in President George W. Bush's administration, had worked on several education initiatives, including the Ready to Succeed Scholarship program and the Pennsylvania STEM Competition to showcase students' skills and expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Tomalis controversy became an issue in the gubernatorial race during the summer with supporters of Democratic nominee Tom Wolf calling for his ouster.

Last month, the Education Department objected to the auditor general's adding a review of employees, six months after a performance audit had begun, said Education Department spokesman Tim Eller.

But "the department is pleased that the auditor general agrees with initiating a separate audit," he said.

That first audit looked at the interaction of the State Board of Education and the Education Department in establishing education policy, rules, regulations, and procedures, and the department's work to improve schools identified as poor performers.

DePasquale said the new audit would try to determine the extent to which the department has employed special advisers and assistants, and to see if they fulfilled the terms of their contracts.

DePasquale said the audit would look at "several" people going back to 2010, the last year of Gov. Ed Rendell's administration.

The auditor general has no enforcement power and can only recommend changes to policies and procedures.

DePasquale said he wanted to make sure future governors "don't give someone a job with no role to play."