New Mexico
Public Education Department
300 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-2786
Hanna Skandera www.ped.state.nm.us
Secretary-Designate
Larry Behrens
Public Information Officer
505-476-0393
NEWS RELEASE
/For Immediate Release: June 15, 2012
NMPED Announces Findings of Tier II
Special Education Audit
Findings Include Over $4 Million in Questionable Spending
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) presented the final report of the Tier II audits of select school districts on Friday. The Tier II audits are the result of NMPED’s initial review of school districts after a spring 2011 student count revealed that, while the number of new students in New Mexico increased by about 1% from 2010˗2011, the number of funding units associated with those students increased 116%. Even before the release of the final report, the increase in accurate district reporting over the last year has saved taxpayers in the areas which were the focus of the audit. This savings of over $7 million means funds are distributed more fairly to New Mexico students.
“Our districts have responded by going the extra mile to make sure their data is accurate,” said NMPED Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera, “and the beneficiaries of this hard work are the students and taxpayers of New Mexico.”
During the 80-day student counts in the 2010˗2011 school year, a highly unusual increase in student funding units occurred, a large number of them in the area of special education. The Tier II audits also revealed over $4 million in special education spending which was not properly documented and in some cases, contained questionable spending. Some examples detailed in the final report include the following:
· Over $16,000 paid to a credit card for a Disney World Conference for a special education conference with no invoices, training materials, or agendas to verify the appropriateness of the trip.
· Over $81,000 spent on two Chevrolet Suburbans without sufficient passenger information about the purpose for trips.
· Over $2,000 in special education funding spent on district legal fees without documentation to prove the costs were allowable.
· Over $12,500 in special education funds spent in one instance without sufficient documentation to prove it was related to special education.
The audits were conducted in nine districts and one charter school in New Mexico which were identified after NMPED’s initial review in April 2011. The complete report is currently posted on the PED website at: http://ped.state.nm.us/ped/PublicNotices.html.
New Mexico Public Education Department