Does APS need an Office of the Inspector General?

Past shows district needs independent oversight

I appreciated hearing the news that an Albuquerque Public Schools Board member recently made the right decision to step down, but this should have happened months ago. I also believe this situation provides a great opportunity to consider establishing an Office of Inspector General for APS.

The list is short, but the cities with an OIG overseeing their public school systems are significant and include: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Some cities don’t have a public school district inspector general but do have a city or county IG that provides oversight of the public schools system — some examples include Washington, DC, Miami-Dade and Baltimore. Even the federal Department of Education has an inspector general.

I’ve only been a resident of Albuquerque for just over a year but have become aware of several situations in recent history that alone would be reason enough to establish an IG to provide oversight of APS. I would recommend policy makers review the Association of Inspectors General’s model language for creating such an office, but typically the office would have an investigations, inspections and audit mission to ensure transparency, integrity, efficiency and ethics while preventing, deterring, detecting and investigating fraud, abuse and corruption. The office must be independent of the APS leadership hierarchy with a separate independent body that provides oversight of the OIG, similar to the city of Albuquerque’s Accountability in Government Oversight committee.

While APS has an Internal Audit office and an “Ethical Advocate,” I believe there needs to be a more proactive comprehensive oversight agency, with more authority, to include subpoena power, the ability to administer oaths and refer matters for criminal prosecution to appropriate authorities.

The benefits of such an agency will help not only protect the tax dollars of the residents, but to help restore credibility to APS and instill confidence in the public. We need this office to ensure our children receive the full resources and benefits intended for their learning and development.