Misused Funds in Special Education

If you read this, you will see that the special education fund was used for unnecessary  things ... Disney trip, suburbans...or it was not documented. 

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

Larry.Behrens2@state.nm.us

                                                                                    

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's Latest Initiatives

Two bills for New Mexico Education

1. Make sure kids can read by third grade. If not, 17 million dollars will be in place for "intervention before retention."

2. Keep track of teachers with achievement scores over a period of three years to see their improvement based on students achievement.

First of all,  Shouldn't students be reading by first grade. I am not ESL Certified, but I know that there are Natives in the classroom and not all of them speak their language at home, therefore they are speaking English. However, schools give themselves excuses as to why Native and Hispanic aren't learning because they are ELL. My point is, they are not all ELL. The bar is lowered in NM because they have a higher Native and Hispanic population. Therefore, everyone loses. The English speaking lack a challenging education and there is no expectation for the Natives and Hispanics. I see how smart all of these cultures are, then they get into school and nothing is expected of them. They all have significant more potential than schools give them credit for. 

Second, keeping track of teachers?? I know that the district has their required assessments. I think they have these because they are already keeping track of teachers. Are they doing anything about the teachers that mess around in class? NO. And maybe the problem isn't the teachers, maybe its the administration!  They hand out a good teaching book or management inspiration books and say they have done their jobs. They need to encourage further education and attending seminars. Throwing more money at a problem does not solve an issue. More assessments cost. Spend that money somewhere else. Rio Rancho brags that it spends less per pupil than another school...I am no sure I would be proud of that, but their schools are not any better than Albuquerque. 

Hispanic CREO Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options

"When you met with Secretary-Designate Skandera, you asked to be informed of the priorities for improving public education for New Mexico’s kids. Thank you sincerely for your interest.

 

The New Mexico Public Education Department will put forth two bills during the 2012 legislative session that, if passed, will dramatically and positively impact our students, teachers and schools. Currently, New Mexico ranks near last in the nation, so dramatic changes are necessary and the time is now.

 

One of those bills will address reading proficiency. This early reading initiative will provide the means to assess the reading skills of our children from Kindergarten through 3^rd grade (something not every school does now) and then provide intervention tools to assist with students requiring more help with learning to read. We will invest $17 million dollars into these programs to give parents, teachers, and students a real opportunity to assess and improve reading skills. While this may seem like a large sum, the cost is insignificant in comparison to the cost to our children’s future if we fail to intervene on their behalf now.  Keeping in mind, in the latest scores from a nation-wide assessment reveal 80% of New Mexico’s 4^th grade students are not reading on grade level. You may hear more than a few media reports call this the ‘no social promotion’ bill, but what’s important about this bill is intervention before retention.

 

Our next bill is designed to keep and inspire the great teachers we already have and to recruit new ones of the highest caliber.  Currently, we have no system for evaluating our teachers that emphasizes their students’ performances; so many of our teachers and the miraculous work they are doing goes without recognition.  This bill will establish a system that assesses teacher effectiveness and performance based on objective measures of improved student achievement, not just a single test score or a single subjective observation, but three years worth of data, observations in the classroom and district priorities.  Our goal is to honor the art and the science of teaching.

 

The reading bills are House Bill 69 (HB 69) sponsored by Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, Rep. Andy Nunez, Rep. Dennis Roch and Rep. Jimmie Hall along with Senate Bill 96 (SB 96) sponsored by Sen. John Arthur Smith, Senator Stuart Ingle, and Senator Gay Kernan. We anticipate having numbers assigned to our teacher evaluation bills soon. 

 

We would love for you to contact your Representatives and encourage them to support these bills. And if you make the trip up to Santa Fe for the session please let us know so we can make sure you stay in the loop when these bills come up for debate in the various committees. Your presence would be invaluable!

 

Today and every school day, New Mexico will lose 71 of its students (2011 Diplomas Count report). We must stop this devastating loss. New Mexico’s children deserve an education that will help them reach their potential. Let’s keep telling our kids to dream big; but let’s also give them the tools to help them realize those dreams. I am asking you to support New Mexico’s kids by joining me on this journey. I will e-mail you about the numerous opportunities there will be for you to support reform by being present in Santa Fe during the 2012 legislative session. Please follow on Twitter (@HannaSkandera) and keep checking your e-mail for the most up-to-date developments throughout the session.

 

My most sincere and humble thanks to you for supporting the initiatives that will make a difference in the lives of New Mexico’s children.  

 

Reminder: We need your help to pass these initiatives. We’re asking each one of you to:

1.       Send a letter of support to each of your legislators. Also, please feel free to send us a copy as well.

2.       In addition to your letter, please call your legislators and let them know these reforms are important to you.

3.       Please let us know if you’re visiting Santa Fe during the session and can speak in support.