FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An audit found that the Broward School Board overpaid a Fort Lauderdale developer Stiles Corporation nearly $700,000 for work it did on an elementary school in Pompano Beach.
Pat Reilly unveiled his audit at Tuesday's board meeting that found Stiles double billed for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work.
"We can't continue to function like that. We need a very disciplined process," said Superintendent Robert Runcie.
"That money should have never been paid to that contractor no matter -- under any circumstances -- so we were egregiously misled," said Charlotte Greenbarg, vice chair of the board's facilities taskforce.
The money has been paid to Stiles Corp.
"How was this paid without the appropriate checks and balances system?" asked Robin Bartleman.
Terry Stiles, who heads the development corporation, declined an interview Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer Steve Palmer denied that the company overcharged the school board.
"Now, first, we have to get the money back, which is not easy," said Greenbarg.
The school board's lawyers are looking into the matter.