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State overpaid for APS special ed
Report highlights
A 60-page evaluation of Albuquerque Public Schools was released Friday to the Legislative Finance Committee. The district has 30 days to respond with a corrective action plan. Major findings included:
The state overpaid $2.6 million for special-education services, which the district must pay back. The special-education enrollment has declined but employees have increased.
The district hasn't spent federal funds in a timely manner to help children in poverty schools. The funds should be spent to improve student performance. Also, incentives could be offered to experienced teachers to work in schools with high-needs students.
Last school year, the district used substitute teachers to teach core courses 8.7 percent of the time. Teachers and instructional staff were absent 136,352 days. The district did not offer professional development to teachers outside of the school year, contributing to the absenteeism.
The district has accumulated approximately $24 million in health and medical insurance funds, which should be transferred to a fund separate from property and other liability funds.
The Public Education Department should provide student test data to schools at least three weeks before the end of the school year so teachers can review it and determine services needed for students.
Source: Review of selected operations of Albuquerque Public Schools, October 2007
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A five-month evaluation of Albuquerque Public Schools found that the state overpaid $2.6 million for special education services and that the district has been slow in spending federal funds to improve student academic performance.
The findings were made public Friday in a 60-page report to the Legislative Finance Committee.
The school district has 30 days to respond and provide a corrective action plan.
Tom Savage, the APS deputy superintendent, said district officials did not agree with all of the information presented, but would make changes based on the recommendations.
"By and large, there were some pretty good recommendations," Savage said.
"But this document is not a completely accurate depiction of these particular issues. It is lacking complete information."
For instance, the evaluators said the district has not spent federal funds in a timely manner to help children in poverty schools.
Savage said the evaluators did not have the accurate expenditure data, which will be provided by district officials.
State evaluators did discover a $2.6 million overpayment for special-education services, money that supports about 40 employees.
"We need to pay it back," Savage said. But the employees won't necessarily lose their jobs because the services they provide are needed by students, he said.
The evaluators also were critical of the district for using substitute teachers too frequently, but that happens because teachers need to go to training to improve their teaching, Savage said.
The 91 percent attendance rate for teachers reported by the evaluators was compared to a national rate of 95 percent. Savage questioned if the national rate and the APS rate were based on the same employee groups.
"Ninety-nine percent of our teachers don't want to miss a day of class," he said.
Overall, the evaluation was useful for both the district and the legislative committee, Savage said.
"This brought clarity to the issues and shows we can do more to help the Legislature feel comfortable with what we are doing."
