Connecticut lawmakers are renewing their calls for immediate legislative public hearings on the state’s school construction financing program, according to a press release by the Connecticut Senate Republicans.
On February 10, Republicans wrote to the state auditors seeking an audit of the state’s school construction financing program. On the same day, they also wrote to legislative leaders seeking legislative hearings to examine the state’s school construction financing program.
Renewing the calls are Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford), and Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Paul Formica (R-East Lyme).
In a new letter dated April 8th, the Republican leaders are calling for public hearings to bring both current and former executive branch officials involved in the management and oversight of the school construction program before members of the General Assembly to answer questions, respond to audit findings, and provide insight into the program’s operation and management, the press release notes.
Those who “must attend” the hearings, according to the lawmakers, are former Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and chief operating officer Josh Geballe and former Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw.
“Connecticut Democrats have failed to hold the state accountable thus far. The reviews of this situation to date have only scratched the surface and still have not gotten to the heart of the allegations,” the Republican leaders said in a statement. “Democratic legislative leaders tried to silence our calls for hearings before by holding an inadequate forum, at which lawmakers were limited in length and scope of the questions we could ask. Based on the auditors’ report, it’s clearer than ever that the forum was inadequate. The organizers of that forum didn’t want to know anything about the alleged disrespect of taxpayers. Today, they can no longer look away. This audit demands the attention of every lawmaker who cares about protecting constituents’ sacrifices.”
The lawmakers’ calls follow “the release of a state audit that details serious flaws in the state’s oversight of the school construction financing program, which is allegedly the subject of a federal investigation,” according to the press release.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Connecticut Star and The Star News Network.
