State office beefing up Title I reviews

The State Office of Education is beefing up the way it makes sure school districts follow federal education laws affecting poor students, a move that one official says could prevent the kind of illegal activity alleged in the indictment of two former Davis School District employees.

The new monitoring rules, expected to roll out next year, will be a far cry from the skeletal reports that the state has been filing, state Title I director Karl Wilson said. Reports will be more formal, like the ones the U.S. Department of Education uses for state audits, and will cite laws and specific examples of compliance — or noncompliance.

Last year's federal audit of the State Office of Education yielded an unflattering report of state monitoring of district compliance. That audit report is the reason for the State Office of Education's new format.

"The whole system of monitoring is being revised," Wilson said.

Would having a more rigorous monitoring system have prevented the allegations in Davis County? "I can't guarantee that," he said. But as to whether it might in the future, he said: "We certainly hope so."

Former Davis District employees Susan and John Ross were indicted last month on 47 counts of mail fraud, money laundering, theft of government funds and copyright infringement. They were accused of defrauding the district of $4.3 million in federal Title I funds between 2000 and 2005.

Susan Ross was Davis' Title I director. Her husband, John Ross, was working as the district's grant writer and had previously worked in the State Office of Education's Title I department.

The State Office of Education plans to monitor district compliance with Title I regulations and other elements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The state receives more than $100 million under No Child Left Behind. A big chunk of that is Title I money, which helps children in low-income-neighborhood schools.

The state last monitored Davis School District's Title I compliance in 2001, the year before No Child Left Behind was in place. The state will monitor the district again next year, Wilson said.

The 2001 report on Davis is five pages long. The district received good marks, which praised the Title I director as prepared, the staff and team as positive and people who "made for an excellent review," states the report from the State Office of Education.