DPS takes steps to address findings in US Department of Education audit

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Detroit Public Schools Superintendent William F. Coleman III released the following statement regarding a recent audit of the District’s use of Title I funds:

“An audit recently released by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Education found that the District failed to properly account for the use of some Title One Funds during the 2003-04 and the 2004-05 school years.The audit also found that some contractors may have failed to perform their duties according to the terms of the contracts.

While we disputed some of the issues raised in the 32-page report, we accept responsibility for a great many of them. We are also greatly disturbed by them.

To this end, we have taken aggressive measures to ensure that such errors are not repeated.  These measures include a new policy that requires a thorough review and approval of the District’s Office of Compliance prior to any expenditure of grant funds. In addition, the administrator who was in charge of the District’s Department of Community and Public Affairs, which had oversight of the expenditure of most of these funds, was terminated last year.

Although these problems occurred long before I took over as superintendent, this administration is determined to prevent them from recurring.  We take our roles as stewards of the taxpayers’ money very seriously. We are committed to ensuring that there is no hint of impropriety, mismanagement or abuse in any of our financial dealings.”



About the Detroit Public Schools

The Detroit Public Schools, founded in 1842, is one of the nation’s largest public school systems. Detroit Public Schools is a school district of choice and is open to children who live outside the city. The District offers numerous competitive academic and career technical programs.

Among these world-class programs are the Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural School, Michigan’s only public school of its kind; Davis Aerospace, one of few college prep high schools in the country where students can obtain a pilot’s license; the Detroit School of the Arts, a multiple award winning performing arts high school; and Crockett Technical High School, a digital technology high school.

For more information about the District, visit our website at www.detroitk12.org.