State audit finds that gifted students may be short-changed

Posted Friday, April 4, 2008

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Raleigh, NC - In February, State Auditor Leslie Merritt released an audit of the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Academically or Intellectually Gifted program (AIG). Auditors discovered that both the spending and the quality/effectiveness of AIG’s programs are largely unmonitored by DPI. As a result, academically gifted students may not receive the intended educational services they need to compete in a national and global setting.

“Taxpayers allocate $63.3 million to ensure that North Carolina’s best and brightest students can compete on the global stage,” said State Auditor Leslie Merritt. “Our audit reveals that a portion of these funds were diverted away from gifted students, and that the State did little monitoring to ensure that intended AIG benefits were actually delivered,” continued Auditor Merritt.

State Auditor Leslie Merritt began this audit in May 2007 in response to parental concerns that AIG program funds were being used for other purposes while AIG students were being left underserved. The audit examined AIG policies and procedures, State laws, parent satisfaction survey results, and financial and enrollment data maintained by DPI for fiscal years 2003-2008. The audit’s findings include one Local Educational Agency (LEA) that transferred 99% of AIG funds out of the AIG program in 2007, and transferred-away 98% of AIG funds in 2006.

“Our audit shows that parents of AIG students have legitimate concerns,” said State Auditor Leslie Merritt. “As a father of two kids who were in the NC Public School System, I believe that taxpayers’ money should be used to educate students on every skill-level, and for some AIG students this just isn’t happening as it was intended,” concluded Auditor Merritt.