Board Seeks Ruling on Inspector General's Reach

Decision From State May Settle Dispute With County Council Over Investigative Authority

The Montgomery County school board is asking the state's top law enforcement official to determine whether the county's inspector general -- charged with investigating fraud and abuse -- has the authority to audit the inner workings of the school system.

In a May 4 letter, school board President Charles Haughey (At Large) asked Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. (D) to issue a formal opinion to settle a dispute between the school board and the Montgomery County Council over the inspector general's investigative authority.

The request underscores growing tension between the two bodies at a time when County Council members are beginning to question whether more oversight of the state's largest school system is needed.

The County Council maintains that the school system is a county agency that receives the bulk of its funding locally and thus falls under the law granting Inspector General Thomas Dagley the power to investigate its business. But the school system argues that it is a state, not county, agency and that it is not subject to the local legislation that gives the inspector general audit authority.

In February, Dagley released a report that criticized the school system for not being forthright about cost estimates and public support for the Seven Locks Elementary School project in Potomac. The school system vehemently disputed Dagley's findings. But the audit was enough to stall the school system's plans to push forward with the building project. It also prompted some County Council members to call for closer scrutiny of school system operations.

Some County Council members have questioned the timing of the board's request.

"It was only after the school system saw his conclusions -- what his draft conclusions were -- that they objected to his looking into this," said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville). "I think that has to be considered in evaluating the school system's response to the audit." Andrews noted that the previous inspector general, Norman D. Butts, had conducted two audits of the school system -- one that examined its transportation program and another that examined computer security -- without objection from the board.

"The IG's position has always been that the office has the responsibility to perform audits and investigations that focus on the expenditure of county taxpayer funds," Dagley said. "This position is based not only on existing legislation, but also on expectations of the Montgomery County Council, county taxpayers and on prior audits and investigation."

Board members argued that Dagley's audit was not like previous investigations because the process was adversarial, not cooperative. They also said that while Dagley called his work a financial audit, the final product did not match the state education code's definition of a financial audit.

Still, not all board members are questioning Dagley's authority. Nancy Navarro (Northeastern County) said she has no issue with the inspector general conducting investigations of the school system. Navarro said the school system should be accountable to the public and not afraid to open its books to those who question its work.

The latest controversy over the role of the inspector general's office mirrors other battles the independent investigator has had over his office's role in ferreting out fraud and waste in county government. This is the first time, however, that the inspector general's office has been at odds with the school board over an investigation.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office said it could take at least two months for an opinion in the matter to be issued.