Auditor knocks DOE
special-ed controlsLax management is blamed
for a loss of $2.2 million
in funds and equipment
Lax management, including inaccurate inventory records and negligence, has led to $2.2 million in unaccounted for special-education equipment and funds in the state Department of Education, according to an audit released yesterday.
The result is that "the public is not assured that these assets are adequately safeguarded and that errors and fraud are promptly detected and prevented," said a summary of the report by state Auditor Marion Higa.
In a response to the audit, state Schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto said the department agrees with the findings and recommendations and will take appropriate action.
"The department accepts the need to implement better accounting practices, tracking and the enforcement of established inventory policies and procedures," Hamamoto wrote in a letter to Higa. "The schools need to be more closely monitored."
The department is required to provide special instruction to meet the needs of special education students under a 1994 federal consent decree.
Since the 1999-2000 fiscal year, when the Legislature established a specific unit of the state budget to account for it, the DOE has spent $13.8 million in special-education equipment, the audit said.
The audit's main criticism focused on record keeping.
As of December 2002, 79 schools and 31 departmental offices had not certified that they had conducted their annual inventory check, the report said.
Also, of 150 items that auditors looked for at 15 schools across the state, 61 percent, or 91 of the items, were either not at the location indicated on the inventory report or had missing or incorrect state decal or serial numbers, according to the audit.
The audit also noted that there are no procedures in place to hold employees accountable for the use of such equipment.
It cited a specific example of a special-education teacher who left a laptop computer in an unsecured box under her classroom desk while on extended leave and found the computer missing when she returned.
"Despite the school's effort to hold the teacher liable for the loss, the school administration was advised against such action," the audit summary said. "We also found that some schools reduced their chances of recovering missing or stolen equipment because they failed to promptly report incidents of threats or loss."
The audit recommends that the department update its inventory records and take steps to ensure their accuracy and establish procedures to hold personnel liable for negligent loss of equipment.
