KOMO Investigation Into Missing District Property
KOMO-TV decided to do an investigation into missing assets at the largest districts in the Puget Sound area. They found the worst problems in Tacoma but here's what they found in Seattle:
"In Seattle we found more uncertainty and more guesswork. Among an inventory of 40,180 assets, 1,908 of them are gone.
District spokesman David Tucker said some computers, printers, scanners - even big items like universal weight sets - haven't been seen in more than three years.
But it doesn't stop there. Inventory sheets put question marks around another 2,225 'unresolved' assets. School administrators suspect they're in some school, somewhere, but they can't tell us which one. On this long list of unresolved items: a Kubota Tractor, three John Deere utility vehicles, and a Steinway grand piano.
After the Problem Solvers started asking questions, the district tracked down those five items. They also located most of the missing universal weight sets. But whether the items are 'missing' or 'unresolved,' the fact is Seattle School District officials still can't lay their hands more than 4,000 pieces of equipment.
"There are things that we certainly need to improve upon and we certainly acknowledge that," Tucker said. "
Sure, it's a big district and things get moved around. But that's a lot of stuff. A lot of people don't even read a newspaper. But many people watch tv; it's this kind of thing that's going to make it harder to pass a BTA levy.
"In Seattle we found more uncertainty and more guesswork. Among an inventory of 40,180 assets, 1,908 of them are gone.
District spokesman David Tucker said some computers, printers, scanners - even big items like universal weight sets - haven't been seen in more than three years.
But it doesn't stop there. Inventory sheets put question marks around another 2,225 'unresolved' assets. School administrators suspect they're in some school, somewhere, but they can't tell us which one. On this long list of unresolved items: a Kubota Tractor, three John Deere utility vehicles, and a Steinway grand piano.
After the Problem Solvers started asking questions, the district tracked down those five items. They also located most of the missing universal weight sets. But whether the items are 'missing' or 'unresolved,' the fact is Seattle School District officials still can't lay their hands more than 4,000 pieces of equipment.
"There are things that we certainly need to improve upon and we certainly acknowledge that," Tucker said. "
Sure, it's a big district and things get moved around. But that's a lot of stuff. A lot of people don't even read a newspaper. But many people watch tv; it's this kind of thing that's going to make it harder to pass a BTA levy.
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