An audit of Montana’s Office of Public Instruction raises questions over how the agency spent more than $67 million in federal funding.
State auditors say the agency in charge of running Montana’s K-12 public schools didn’t consistently track its spending, and submitted incorrect paperwork in some cases. The report also found disparities in the distribution of special education dollars.
The Legislative Audit Division says that a windfall of federal pandemic relief money required additional review.
Auditors offered recommendations for five programs that lacked transparency in their funding.
State lawmakers on the Legislative Audit Committee expressed frustration that Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen did not attend their meeting in person. Arntzen later appeared over Zoom, and said her agency is working to adopt the audit recommendations.
Arntzen has been termed out of the position and will leave office in January.
