Las Cruces Public Schools To Be Audited By State

The Las Cruces Public School District is accused of cheating the system to get more money than the State feels they need.

Superintendent Stan Rounds said he stands behind the District?s reported numbers, but instead of trusting LCPS, Governor Susana Martinez said the State will conduct its own research.

“We’re not gaming the system; we’re not cheating the system,” Rounds said.

Bottom line, Rounds said $9,000,000 is what the District needs to cover increased enrollment and special education students. But this seven-digit figure is being questioned by the State.

“Population in schools throughout the state only grew 1%; so for your budget to grow by $9,000,000 for those kids, and in Las Cruces, a little more than 300 kids, that’s $30,000 a child; it’s impossible,” Martinez said.

The Public Education Department reported LCPS is among 34 districts statewide that showed unusually high spikes in the number of special education students. This is a category of expenses up nearly 63% for Las Cruces Public Schools.

“It’s terribly wrong to game the system in order to take more money for your school from another school,? Martinez said. ?You’re taking it for your own school from another and other students in order to increase your budget.”

The District always reports numbers on the conservative side, Rounds said. He also said he is confident this year they were even more accurate than in the past.

“We’ve had difficulty verifying data to the State – so we didn’t. We could have gamed the system and reported it, done it improperly, but until we’re convinced the data in this District is absolutely correct, we don’t report it,? Rounds said.

But Martinez said instead of taking his word for it, there has to be accountability for possibly padding the system and mislabeling kids.

“When the flags are raised, we’re going to have to just make sure we’re checking,? Martinez said. ?These are taxpayer dollars and I?m committed not to cutting funding in the classroom.”

LCPS followed normal procedure and submitted their enrollment numbers on December 1, 2010, Rounds said, so he feels this should not come as a surprise.

“I believe they’ll find our data to be trustworthy,? Rounds said. “All we’re here for is kids; all we’re here for is to provide services to them; my job is to be sure we do a credible job of reporting.”

An outside agency will conduct the audit this week.