KDSN RADIO News
Sand says questions need answering re hiring of DM superintendent
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(Radio Iowa [updated]) – State Auditor Rob Sand says he welcomes a request to audit Des Moines Public Schools, but state law does not give him the authority to launch an investigation on his own or do so in response to state legislators.
“Our office is ready to receive a qualifying request from an elected official of the school district, from an employee of the school, from a petition from 100 people who live within the school district boundaries, and if do get that, we will conduct a review because we do think there are important questions that need answering,” Sand said this morning.
Three Republican members of the Iowa Senate recently sent Sand a letter, asking him to evaluate the process the Des Moines School Board used to hire Ian Roberts, who was arrested by immigration agents last month and faces federal gun charges. Sand says the state auditor’s office only has the authority to investigate local entities when the request comes from someone within the city, county, or — in this case — school district. None of the senators who sent the letter lives in Des Moines. “They can request issues of spending by a state department…That’s it,” Sand said. “You’ll notice that none of them requested us to investigate what was going on with the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, who actually approved a license for Ian Roberts to teach. That might be partisan politics.”
Sand, a Democrat who is running for governor, made his comments during a news conference this morning in the state auditor’s office. Sand told reporters he has spoken to a couple of people at Des Moines Public Schools about the process of filing a request for a special investigation by the state auditor’s office. “We are here today to make sure that every DMPS employee and people who are citizens who live in the DMPS jurisdiction, if they want to do a petition, are all aware of how this works,” Sand said.
State law requires annual audits for all public school districts in Iowa. Many use private auditing firms or CPAs. Sand indicated if his office gets a request to conduct a special investigation of the Des Moines Public School District, it would not be a re-audit, but would focus on specific issues surrounding the now-former Superintendent, including a contract with a consulting firm connected to Roberts.
