In August 2019, Education gave the books to the public
The Comptroller’s Office of Puerto Rico published on Tuesday the result of a lawsuit over alleged free deliveries of school textbooks at the printing house of the Department of Education in Santurce.
The complaint indicates that there were new and used books, two floors full and that the free and unlimited deliveries were made from Monday to Friday from 8:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon.
The investigation reveals that the Department held an Open House since August 24, 2019, to dispose of school textbooks free of charge to the public. However, the Department was not empowered to dispose of the surplus books without complying with the provisions of the State Surplus Property Regulations of the General Services Administration.
This situation could lead to the commission of irregularities in said processes, and that the Department did not receive income from the sale of textbooks or that any bona fide institution had the opportunity to use them, as established in Article 17 of the Regulations, details a statement of the Comptroller’s Office.
In addition, deficiencies were detected in the content of the form used to deliver the books to the printer, as part of the closure, consolidation, and reorganization of schools. The form does not provide to specify if the books were accounted for by boxes or on pallets, dates of collection and delivery of books, nor the position of the employee who performs the process.
Due to this situation, the Comptroller’s auditors were unable to verify in detail the book disposal process, nor did the Department maintain adequate control of the books received at the printing press.
The investigation recommends that the Secretary of Education ensure that the Department’s Undersecretariat for Academic Affairs, the property manager, and the regional and school directors, comply with the regulations of the General Services Administration established for the disposal of surplus books.
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