Sand talks legislation, school vouchers

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand made stops in Creston and Osceola last Tuesday as part of his annual 100 town hall tour, spending an hour at both locations talking with and answering questions from constituents.

New legislation

Sand, a Democrat, spoke of the legislation passed that limits his duties as state auditor. In his first term as auditor, which began in 2019, Sand said that he found a “record number of money misspent,” and theorized that was why Senate File 478 was passed in June.

The bill denies the state auditor from accessing various records including individual income tax returns, law enforcement agencies’ criminal files, student records, hospital records and peace officers’ investigative reports. The only exception is to comply with “state or federal regulation, or in the case of alleged or suspected embezzlement or theft.” An agency could still question information requested by the state auditor if necessary for the purposes of an audit.

Sand does not know of any other state with a similar regulation.

The procedure had previously been for his office to request documents and to include the court system when needed. Sand said the neutral court judge would rule on the request.

Now, it’s a three-person arbitration panel - one from the state department, one from the auditor’s office and one appointed by the governor.

“[It’s]not too complicated to pick how that’s going to resolve,” said Sand.

Sand said there was bipartisan support to stop the bill, and that the American Institute of CPAs spoke against it, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bill going through. One reason that Sand heard for the push for the bill was to protect privacy, which is something he said his office has always done.

“The idea an audit is an invasion of privacy evades common sense,” Sand said.

School vouchers

Sand was critical of the state’s new school voucher plan approved earlier this year by Republican controlled legislators and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Sand spoke of the bill as a “disaster waiting to happen,” and one that will come with a “total lack of oversight.”

According to the governor’s office,

“The bill makes state education funding available for K-12 students who choose to attend private schools. It also provides public schools with additional categorical funding for students who live in their district but attend private schools, and allows public school districts to use unspent money from some categorical funds to supplement teacher salaries.

With the passage of the Students First Act, parents who enroll their eligible children in an accredited private school will receive an amount equal to the per pupil funds allocated by the state to all public school districts each year. The funds are estimated at $7,598 per pupil for the 2023-2024 school year and will be deposited into an education savings account (ESA) to be used for tuition, fees, and other qualified education expenses.”

Sand sees the details of the bill as the only thing a school can’t do with the funds is pay a rebate to parents. If a school is for-profit, they can decide to take the funds and keep it as profit beyond established salaries.

“Private schools can’t give a rebate to families…they’ll take that tax money and put it in their pockets. In public school, we call that stealing,” said Sand.

Sand also pointed out that now, any student can go to a public school with little to no competition to get in. People who already pay for private-school tuition will have access to state tax dollars to pay the tuition. Osceola has one private school - HomeGrown Christian Learning Center, which will open for its first year this September.

“The wealthy people who can already afford to send their kids are just now doing it on your tax money,” said Sand.

Sand said he asked some people in support of the bill and asked what happens to schools after tuition is paid, thinking it was an oversight.

“We don’t want public oversight of private schools,” Sand said is what he gathered. “Then don’t give them public money.”

Another response he has heard is that the participating schools must be accredited.

“That has nothing to do with how you spend money,” Sand said.

Sand also said that some supporters of the bill said that the parents will be able to tell if the money is being misspent, but Sand questioned how the parents will know.

“We’re a watchdog. We’re gonna keep barking until someone puts us down or does something,” said Sand.

PIE program

A piece of good news Sand had to share involved his Public Innovations & Efficiencies (PIE) program - Sand reported that Clarke Community School District had participated this year. The PIE program encourages government agencies to find new ways to save money, and welcomes them to submit those ideas to the auditor. In 2022, nearly 500 government entities participated in the program.

PIE award winners will be announced later this year, and Sand will visit the winners to deliver baked pies to them.

Candra Brooks contributed to this article.