Iowa State Capitol photo courtesy of auditor.iowa.org
State Auditor: Citizens should know how tax dollars used in private schools
By Editor Josh Mitchell
River Mississippi News
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand says he’s alarmed over a proposed bill that he says would result in a lack of transparency in how public tax dollars are used in private schools.
Sand describes himself as a “watchdog” of taxpayer money and says, “This bill gives private schools your tax dollars, and gives you no right to know what they are doing with them.” In fact, Sand says the proposed bill intentionally leaves out accountability measures.
In comparison, Sand says current Iowa law “requires public schools to have open meetings, maintain and produce public records, and have elected citizen oversight.
“They must follow budgeting laws. They must have an annual audit. We learn of waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars in part because of these obligations. None of these obligations apply to private schools the same way. This bill won’t change that.”
Moreover, Sand says the proposed bill has no language setting parameters on how private schools can use the money.
After a private school gets public dollars as tuition, they could buy a teacher or teachers brand new Ford Mustang convertibles in the name of incentive pay. The public may not find out at all, and if they did, there may be no recourse for taxpayers. That is flatly, fundamentally irresponsible.”
All of this, Sand says, will make “uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse of your tax dollars” much more difficult.
