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Legislator wants Dept. of Education audited
CHEYENNE, Feb 12, 2012 (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The Wyoming Department of Education may be facing extra scrutiny both now and in the coming months.
State Rep. William "Jeb" Steward, R-Encampment, recently proposed an audit of the department, and internally some personnel actions have been questioned.
Budget questions came up during a meeting between department officials and members of the Wyoming Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee, of which Steward is a member.
"There were some issues raised in testimony in the (Joint Appropriations Committee) regarding some expenditures of money without proper legislative oversight," Steward said.
The questions concerned money being moved from other areas to fund programs like the Teacher-to-Teacher training program.
The training program was started during the current administration of Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill and after the budget had been written, John Masters, an attorney for the department, said in the committee meeting.
Members of the department had to return to the committee to present more information on the finances.
The questions raised prompted the audit request, Steward said.
"In order to build trust again, it would seem reasonable and logical to have an analysis from an independent eye to scrutinize their books," he said. "There was no malicious intent with this. I thought the (Department of Education) would embrace the idea and encourage it."
Though an initial motion for the audit failed, Steward said he's considering bringing it up again during the budget session, which starts Monday.
There would be no problem with having an audit, said Jerry Zellars, Education Department public information officer.
"We're routinely audited, like other agencies, so we're open to that at any time," he said.
However, there may be another investigation going on within the department.
The department has been working on an internal human resources matter, Zellars said.
It is unclear if the issue has been resolved.
The details of the internal investigation are confidential, but Zellars said it is unrelated to an email from former employee Peg Brown-Clark regarding her last few days at the department and the treatment of another department employee.
However, questions about the email prompted a recent news release from the department stating that no external investigation was taking place.
Though there is no external investigation being run by the Wyoming Attorney General's Office, it is lending support to the internal matter, said Attorney General Greg Phillips.
"We're offering legal advice as they investigate," he said. "Anytime that an agency has a legal question on personnel rules or otherwise, they consult with us."
___ (c)2012 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.) Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
(Cheyenne, Wyo.) at www.wyomingnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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