Responses to TAPBI Performance Audit Report

State of Arizona Department of Education Tom Horne Superintendent of Public Instruction October 24, 2007 Ms. Debra K. Davenport, CPA Auditor General Office of the Auditor General th2910 North 44 Street, Suite 410 Phoenix, Arizona 85010 Dear Ms. Davenport: The Arizona Department of Education is providing the enclosed response to the Auditor General’s performance audit of the Technology Assisted Project-Based Instruction Program. We appreciate your work on this performance audit, your consideration of our previous comments and suggestions and your acknowledgement of the quality and variety of work already provided by the Arizona Department of Education. Please feel free to cal me at (602) 364-2339 if any additional information is needed. Sincerely, Margaret Garcia Dugan Deputy Superintendent Enclosure ƒƒƒƒ State of Arizona Department of Education Tom Horne Superintendent of Public Instruction ADE GENERAL COMMENT Before SAIS, schools were paid on the basis of the aggregate number of students that were reported by those schools. The State had no way to verify numbers and was unable to deduct for concurrent enrollment. SAIS was first implemented in 2003 to the point where payment could be made on the State’s records rather than on the schools’ self-reported records. For the first time, it was possible to deduct for concurrent enrollments. SAIS has numerous other advantages over the ...