Iowa audit finds dozens of public contract improprieties

The Iowa Department of Education had dozens of public contract improprieties and ignored a law that requires reports about efforts to prevent discriminatory employment practices, a state audit released Monday shows.

The audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015, tested a sample of 52 contracts overseen by the department. Of those, 34 began service prior to formal approval while three did not include monitoring and review clauses that are required under state laws or rules.

And of 12 contracts that had been amended, six had not been properly authorized, the audit found.

The same audit additionally found the department has ignored a law to collect reports from each public school district, area education agency and community college to document equal employment opportunity programs and accomplishments. A compilation of the efforts is, by law, to be submitted to the Iowa Department of Management each year.

The public contract and employment rules are intended to help assure fairness and to avoid litigation that has in recent years cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just last week, for example, Iowa agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a claim brought by an Iowa Workforce Development employee who claimed she was passed over for promotion because of her race.

Jeff Berger, the Education Department's deputy director, said Monday the contract issues have largely been resolved. However, because it is necessary for some work to begin immediately, it is occasionally necessary that contract work launch before the department officials grant formal approval. New employee education and improved planning should minimize those occasions, he said.

As for the employment program reports, Berger said it was an issue of oversight, which will be corrected and submitted in future years.

“The audit did what we needed it to do for us,” Berger said. “In a routine audit, what you hope they find is where you can strengthen or improve your processes and we feel this is what this one did.”