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State: Crooks hired at Bethlehem, Schenectady schools

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau
Last updated: 1:37 p.m., Thursday, February 12, 2009

Both the Bethlehem and Schenectady school districts have during the last few years hired people with criminal backgrounds - despite a system set up the by state to guard against such occurrences, according to a report out today from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

     
"When it comes to children, safety has to come first," DiNapoli said. "That did not happen and kids were put at risk.'' The audit found that some background checks from the Education Department were delayed for as long as two years because no one was monitoring their status. Under an emergency waiver system, however, people could be hired before the background checks were completed.