New bill would add state auditor to oversee funding of school voucher program

SALT LAKE CITY — A controversial school voucher bill that passed the House and Senate, and was signed by the governor, is expected to get a new set of eyes to help follow the money trail.

SB77 would add the state auditor to the team that watches over the funding and all other state scholarship programs.

“They said it was an inadvertent oversight, and they wanted to make sure I have some authority when it comes to overseeing the new scholarship program that was just passed,” said John Dougall, Utah’s state auditor.  “I think the public expect it to be spent as good as possible. They don’t want tax money to be wasted because they work so hard to pay those taxes.”

HB215, the new scholarship program, gives money to parents for other educational opportunities outside of public school, such as private schools or home schooling.

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Right now, the way the bill is set up, private CPA firms will be doing the auditing. If SB77 is passed, then the state auditor will also be brought into overseeing the funds.

Rep. Candice Pierucci, the sponsor of HB215, told KSL bringing in the state auditor is a step in the right direction of helping tax payers be more comfortable.

“I think it’s helpful that the state auditor has the ability to audit this state program, and in addition to an external audit, we will have the state auditor on board,” Pierucci said. “We take this very seriously. We are keepers of tax payer dollars, and we want to make sure that those are being used for the purposes they are being appropriated for.”