State Auditor Joshua Gallion today released an audit of the Department of Public Instruction that found that school districts are not given satisfactory guidance from DPI on how to record school bus transportation data used to calculate state aid. State aid transportation payments of $54 million were made to school districts during the audit period.
The Assistant Attorney Generals assigned to the Office of the State Auditor and the Department of Public Instruction determined neither agency had the authority to obtain supporting documentation from individual school districts.
Because of the inability to review supporting documentation from school districts, the Office of the State Auditor was not able to review the data necessary to verify that enrollment and transportation data was correct. During the audit period, $1.9 billion was distributed as state aid to school districts, and an additional $54 million was provided to cover transportation costs.
“Making sure we are able to verify the accuracy of records is important for transparency and public trust.” Auditor Gallion said. “This an opportunity for the legislature to improve oversight of public funds for both the Auditor’s office and the Department of Public Instruction.” This audit is a result of the State Auditor’s Office statutory responsibility to audit or review each state agency once every two years. The complete audit report can be found on our website, https://bit.ly/34ZCP25.