Recordkeeping for the We the People program, which provides a government education program for some Utah students, is so inadequate that state auditors can't fully account for some $50,000 in state funds provided for the program, an audit reports.
But We the People director Rulon Garfield, Provo, told the Deseret News that he has documentation to support his spending and that he has "done an excellent job for seven years with a great deal of integrity." He said auditors in the state auditor's office did not consider all of the documentation he submitted.He said he hopes the state will continue to provide some funds for the program and that he is willing to cooperate with the state office in accounting for any state money. Assistant State Superintendent Jerry Peterson already has been assigned to work with him, he said.
However, State Superintendent Scott W. Bean said, "We won't do it with him (Garfield.) Either we will run it or not support it at all. I think we could do it with about 20 percent of the money he has been getting."
The audit released this week criticized Garfield's "completely inadequate recordkeeping," including mingling of personal and program funds through use of his credit card to pay We the People bills. It questions his use of state money to furnish the program office in his home without authorization and to pay for personal car repairs totaling $1,270, rather than collecting standard mileage.
The auditors also took the State Office of Education to task for not monitoring the money provided by the Legislature to aid We the People.
Bean responded that the funds were "legislatively mandated, with no program expectations clearly communicated to (the office). The State Board of Education was aware of problems in this program and recommended that it not be funded, and I recommended that it be vetoed after the Legislature chose to fund it." Bean requested the audit for the 1992 and 1993 fiscal years.
Three state superintendents have questioned the operation of We the People in Utah, and at least two have objected to legislators' putting money for the program into the state education budget.
The program, which was initiated by the federal government in 1987 as a U.S. bicentennial project, continues to operate through the private Center for Civic Education, which still receives some federal money. It provides government-related cur-ri-cula for elementary, junior high and high school students, with one high school class each year selected to attend a competition in Washington, D.C.
Teachers who use We the People to spur students' interest in American government have praised it as a successful program.
The center provides some funding to each participating state. In addition, the Utah program asked for $25,000 each year. Initially, the money was provided through an appropriation to the governor's office. In 1992 and 1993, there were direct appropriations through the State Office of Education budget, over the objections of state superintendents.
Then-Gov. Norm Bangerter vetoed the request in 1992, but the State Office agreed to help pay costs of the Washington trip, since plans were already completed. They money was channeled through Alpine School District, in which the winning students were located, Bean said.
In 1993, Bean asked Gov. Mike Leavitt also to veto an appropriation passed by the Legislature, but the governor didn't do so. The $25,000 was passed through to Garfield.
Even though the state had no direct control over We the People, the education office should have entered into a contract with Garfield to supervise the expenditure of the state funds, says the audit, which was directed by Auston G. Johnson.
"The citizens of this state expect that state agencies will provide the necessary oversight to ensure that their tax dollars are spent appropriately."
In April 1993, Bean complained about having to take $25,000 out of a very tight budget to fund the program, especially since his office has a policy against contributing state funds to projects sponsored by outside groups. He objected to the tactics of Utah County legislators who apparently responded to Garfield's request for funds and put the line item into Bean's budget.
The late James R. Moss, who was superintendent in the early 1990s, also had been concerned about We the People spending and had written letters to Garfield asking for explanations about expenditures.
Moss asked specifically about Garfield's hiring of family members to help run the program, including covering the costs of their travel to Washington, D.C. The auditors, however, said Garfield was within his rights to hire family members, since he had no contract with the state that would have precluded the practice.
The audit says Garfield, in some instances, said he had used state money for airfares to attend center functions, but the fares had already been paid by the national center. Over two years, more than $8,000 in expenses Garfield said had been paid with state funds also were found to have been paid by the center, the audit said.