The recent discovery of state ethics violations by an employee of the Maryland School for the Deaf has not prompted any significant changes in procedure, according to the school?s superintendent.
A legislative audit found a school employee directed an estimated $107,000 in lawn maintenance contracts to a company owned by the employee?s brother-in-law.
The employee?s son also worked for the same business. The contracts had been awarded annually since 2001.
“I view this as an isolated incident,” said Superintendent James Tucker, who asked that questions be e-mailed to him. “However, all procurement and fiscal staff will be given a copy of the ethics policy and required to sign that they have received it.”
The female employee involved is no longer working at the school, Tucker said.
Mid Maryland Property Services was awarded the new one-year, $13,580 lawn care contract for the school through a competitive sealed bid process, Tucker said.
The superintendent said the Office of Legislative Audits did not find any problem with the school?s bid process.
He added that the school would continue to follow state regulations that allow it to make purchases of $25,000 or less without approval from the state Department of General Services.
In a written response to the audit, school officials said the state?s public corruption and conflict of interest statements are included in handbooks reissued to employees annually.
Under state law, it is illegal for an employee to engage in an activity on behalf of his employer if he or a relative could benefit from that activity, and the employee is aware of that potential benefit.
Employees must sign that they have received the handbooks, and school officials said the employee involved had signed for her book.
According to the school?s response, the woman told officials she didn?t think her actions constituted a conflict of interest because she personally didn?t profit from it.
The Maryland School for the Deaf maintains two campuses in Columbia and Frederick, and provides educational and support services to hearing-impaired school-age children.
