A former security coordinator in the Fort Lee school district is accusing the board of education of retaliating against him in a lawsuit filed earlier this month.
Scott Bendul said he was fired in December 2021 after he filled out a questionnaire regarding any irregularities or theft at the board of education during an audit of the district's accounting and purchasing procedures.
According to the lawsuit filed on Dec. 9 in Bergen Superior Court, he was responsible for inspecting buildings and grounds and to check how well things were done by employees and contractors. He also had some responsibilities regarding public contracts for smaller purchase orders.
The suit stated that Bendul would outline work that needed to be done and would get quotes from vendors. With his secretary, he would type up purchase orders with the quotes and submit them to business administrator Haqquisha Taylor. Getting Taylor's approval for purchase orders is required by state law, according to the lawsuit.
The board hired an auditor in the fall of 2021 to audit their accounting and purchasing processes and a questionnaire was sent to Bendul asking if he knew of any theft or irregularities. Bendul said he approached Superintendent Robert Kravitz about the survey, concerned about potential retaliation from Taylor if he answered the survey honestly.
"In response to [Bendul's] fear, [Kravitz] advised [Bendul] to fill out the questionnaire truthfully and told him that he would not be...
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