Dive Brief:

• Derval (Eduardo) Lazzari was arrested last week on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy after the Special Commission of Investigation for city schools found he allegedly over-billed the city for more than $1 million.  
• According to the feds, Lazzari has been over-billing schools since 2006, when his company Acme American Repairs landed a contract to fix cafeteria equipment.  
• Court papers show Lazzari's company was paid $22 million before a new contract was negotiated in 2010.  

Dive Insight:

It was the big bills that caught the eye of the Special Commission of Investigation for city schools. Some of the massive overcharges that they found: $572 for circuit breakers that typically cost $18, and $200 to $300 for electrical outlets that typically cost $2 to $22.  

While it's good that this was fully investigated, it does leave questions about other instances that might be similar but are still flying under the radar. Specifically, it is important to point out that Lazzari had been doing this for almost a decade unnoticed. Transparency is a big word in education these days and along with the push for transparency in the classroom should come a push for school-wide and budgetary transparency.