Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and City Council President Loretta Scott sent a letter to the State Legislature today, slamming the first phase of the $1.2 billion modernization project in the Rochester school district. And they say they are opposed to the Assembly bill seeking $435 million to begin the project’s second phase.Â
The letter says that there are serious concerns about broken timetables, the handling of funds, and other aspects of the project’s first phase. And Warren and Scott say that their recommendations for changes to the draft bill for the second phase were ignored. “Instead, the bill was filed without her [Warren’s] knowledge,” the letter says.Â
The letter also says that the bill should prohibit former members of the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board, the organization charged with oversight of the project, from assuming the role of executive director and advisory staff for at least two years after they resign or are replaced. Â And the bill should prohibit money from the second phase of the project being used for cost overruns on the first phase, the letter says.Â
Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle’s letter responding to Warren and Scott is attached at the bottom of this post.
The schools construction project, considered the largest in the city’s history, has been fraught with delays from its inception, much of it occurring during multiple changes of superintendents and mayors. Last month, Warren confirmed that the FBI is investigating some of aspects of the first phase of the project, and that she has reservations about moving forward.
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas and the Rochester school board have urged that funding for the second phase of the project move forward; stating that delays would cause serious problems. But State Assembly member David Gantt has stated that he will not support the bill while the FBI investigation is under way. Gantt led passage of the bill through the Legislature for the first phase of the project.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2014.
Good for Lovely and Loretta…it is certainly time to speak up and get the spending of millions of dollars in the best way possible as well as the fairest ways possible in Rochester,NY. So…we shall halt construction until the FBI Investigation is done. Now…lets make sure those that have stolen or those that have rigged bids should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Craig R. Moffitt
Seems like Lovely and Loretta are not going to put up with the ” same old, same old things” in Rochester,NY What really is sad is when men and women try to take advantage of power, money and possible bid rigging to better their own lives instead of the children of Rochester. Is it not bad enough that we have such a poor graduation rate of about 45%; daily murder in the streets; children choosing drugs and gangs instead of jobs (not that there are any good jobs)… more so that men and women that are supposed to be setting the example are allegedly stealing and or rigging bids ; or misappropriating millions of dollars on behalf of the City of Rochester and the School District ? I am sad today and hope that the FBI does indeed arrest and imprison anyone that may have done these things to me and our children.
The solution to mismanagement of funds and other corruption in a government project is not to stop all projects but to investigate, arrest and punish the transgressors. Then to put checks in place to make sure it never happens again. After all failing to repair our schools and refusing to provide these jobs will not make things better.
This last minute letter from Lovely Warren and Loretta Scott is troubling. Clearly, the city was not working closely with Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle. Now, the mayor is complaining about not being listened to. Once again, Mayor Lovely Warren is putting herself ahead of the taxpayers, children, and workers she claims to represent.
Great…oversight in redundant fashion as stated by Joe Morelle. Yet, what is the FBI Investigation about and why is it that phase two will go ahead as planned ? What happened in phase one ? Whom is it that lied,stole, rigged bids etc. ?
Craig R. Moffitt