Tom Lividoti, interim director of vocational education, says not all of the violations the state found were as serious as D'Alessandro suggested. Some violations, like the lack of advisory committees for each vocational program, were "cosmetic," he says. He adds that teachers have already begun to fix many of the problems.

But Lividoti, who taught electrical classes for 23 years at CRLS before becoming interim director, says he does not take issue with D'Alessandro's approach.

"She kind of laid it on the line with them and I'm happy she did," he says.

Lividoti says he tries to visit each technical shop every day. As he makes his rounds, he says he sees some of the same problems state auditors saw, like students not working diligently during class time.

"I know when kids are on task," he says. "Kids should be on task and too many times that is not true."

Lividoti says he even agrees with some of the audit's findings. For example, graduation requirements at CRLS mean students taking vo-tech classes can only spend one period a day learning their trade. The state requires that students take at least two hours of technical instruction each day.

Lividoti says he plans to use the audit as leverage to push for more resources. For starters, that means buying state-of-the-art equipment for some shops where state auditors found the machinery inadequate.