$104,400 Spending Plan Gets Council's

Aerosmith: Next Stop New York 
The Band Aerosmith Has Been Scheduled To Perform At The Broome County Arena In 
Binghamton, N.y., At 7:30 P.m. Jan. 5 As Part Of The ``nine Lives'' World 
Tour.

By JEAN LACOE; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, December 03, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





LEHMAN TWP.- The accounting firm hired to audit the Lake-Lehman School
District's athletic reconditioner reported only several billing errors during
Tuesday's meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But board member Lois Kopcha maintains the school district has been misled,
saying the auditor's report is misleading. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I see a lot of discrepancies," she said. "This needs to be looked at more
carefully." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kopcha went public with her allegations against Circle System Group in
July, saying the company was overcharging the district. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After her claims surfaced, the Easton company paid for an audit of the
1995-96 and 1996-97 bids and invoices from Circle Cleaners. Accountants from
the Bethlehem firm of Filipos, McDonald, Abbott &amp; Company presented its
results during Tuesday's work session. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The results of our testing were, for the most part, that Circle conformed
with the bids about 90 percent," said Thomas McDonald, an accountant. "There
were some discrepancies, but we think they were just clerical errors." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In some cases, the company undercharged the school district. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to the audit, Circle owes the district between $500 and $1,850.
The company failed to give a 10 percent discount for the 1995-96 school year
and an 11 percent discount for 1996-97 that it promised in its bids. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Auditors and Circle officials couldn't agree on whether the discount
applied only to bid items or the total invoices. Circle sent the district a
letter, asking officials to meet with the company to negotiate the payment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McDonald said the school district's bid form included many items that were
no longer manufactured. The company therefore substituted similar items that
were not included in its original bid- making it difficult to determine if the
district was overcharged. Board member Karen Whipple said the district has
already updated its bids. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The accountant also suggested the school district check the bids and
subsequent invoices for discrepancies so problems can be quickly resolved. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kopcha, newly elected board president, said it would be up to fellow
directors to decide whether more investigation is necessary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Accountants: Billing Errors Few At Lake-lehman 
But Board Member Insists School District Has Been More Severely Victimized By 
Circle System Group Than Firm's Report Makes It Seem

Accountants: Billing Errors Few At Lake-lehman But Board Member Insists School District Has Been More Severely Victimized By Circle System Group Than Firm's Report Makes It Seem