NYC Education Department officials cost city, state $180M by not seeking federal aid for special services: comptroller audit

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Poor management by city government deprived programs for New York schoolchildren hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid, an audit by city Comptroller Scott Stringer found.

The shortfall came because Department of Education officials didn’t submit all the paperwork to secure more than $155 million in reimbursement for some speech, occupational and physical therapy sessions, Stringer’s auditors found.

The Education Department missed out on at least another $25 million by never requesting reimbursement for other services, the auditors say.

Half of the roughly $180 million city Education Department officials left on the table would have gone to the state under federal rules, with the remaining $90 million flowing to the city coffers, auditors said.

“This is money that could be in our classrooms supporting our children when they need it most,” said Stringer in a statement. “This mismanagement is unacceptable, and the DOE must improve its process to capture every last dollar eligible for reimbursement.”