Granto, target of audit, to leave Niagara Falls schools Jan. 1
NIAGARA FALLS — On the heels of a scathing state audit that lambasted the Niagara Falls School District and several administrators for the way they’ve handled public funds, Superintendent Carmen A. Granto told The Buffalo News on Friday that he will retire on Jan. 1, seven months earlier than he’d previously announced.
Granto, who has been with the district for 42 years, 17 of them as superintendent, said the audit, which criticized him on a number of issues, had nothing to do with his decision.
“My consulting company’s workload is getting such that the time I need to devote to it would take away from time I need to spend here, and I don’t want to do that,” Granto said. “The company is going to receive some substantial capital investment and one of the requirements is that I be full time by the first of the year.”
Granto’s work with his consulting firm, Border River Management, was among the items that drew notice from auditors with the state comptroller’s office. Among their findings was that Granto used his district credit card to pay for travel expenses totaling more than $2,200 related to his personal consulting work, and there was no evidence he reimbursed the district.
The money was paid back after the audit, Granto and other school officials said.
Board President Robert Kazeangin Jr. said Granto is leaving on his own initiative.
“The board was not about to fire him or ask him to leave because of problems cited in the audit,” Kazeangin said.
He said Granto and other district employees were “lackadaisical and sloppy” in the way they kept financial records and used credit cards, but he believes “there was no malfeasance involved.”
Granto told the board about his retirement plans during a Thursday night meeting. He said he anticipates members will approve the idea at their meeting next week.
Granto’s sister, Deputy Superintendent Cynthia A. Bianco, is expected to be appointed interim superintendent Thursday to head the district while the board conducts a search for a new superintendent, Kazeangin said.
The board will look locally and statewide, he said.
Granto said he had told the board three years ago that this school year would be his last on the job.
“I’d have left a lot earlier because I’d take home more money — $15,000 to $20,000 — in retirement since I wouldn’t have to pay state taxes,” he said. “I’d take home more money even if I retired and did nothing.”
Granto was among the subjects in a recent series in The News about public pensions.
The series said Granto’s contract allows him to cash in the unused days off he has coming. At one point, he accrued 45 vacation days and 747 sick days, worth about $220,000 when cashed in. He’s been cashing in his unused time over the past several years, a practice that boosts his annual paycheck, which normally is about $130,000, to just over $200,000.
Granto said his pension benefits are based on his average annual pay over the last five years he works.
The comptroller’s audit, released Oct. 9, had 33 criticisms of district record keeping and spending practices. Several involved Granto.
• “We estimate the superintendent was inappropriately paid in excess of $10,800 for 21 vacation days during 2004-05 . . . and because he told us he has taken his family vacation in Florida for many years, it’s probable that this same exception extends for several years previous,” auditors concluded.
Granto said he did receive more paid time off that year than he was supposed to, but had been told by staff that he still had days off coming. He said when he found out he repaid the district the money immediately.
• Auditors said Granto was found to have failed in providing the district with receipts for a number of purchases with his district credit card. In looking at 48 charges totaling $11,330, auditors said they found no receipts or documentation to support eight of them.
• For 10 restaurant charges totaling $1,338, the available receipt did not indicate the purpose of the meeting or who attended.
District officials have known about the problems since January and have taken steps to clean them up. Granto said he has reimbursed the district.
Granto said he stayed on because he wanted to make sure a corrective action plan to deal with the district financial lapses was moving ahead.
Granto said he is pleased with how he has helped improve district buildings and educational programs for kids, but added, “I wanted to finish the job.”
“All the things in that audit happened on my watch,” he said. “I want to leave knowing at least I started the ball rolling to correct [the problems].”
Because of the holiday season, Granto said his last day as superintendent will be Dec. 22.
