Texas Comptroller Don Huffines says school officials could face prosecution if upcoming state audits uncover fraudulent spending.
Huffines made the comments during an interview on Texas Scorecard’s Real Texans, as his office prepares to investigate the spending practices of four yet-to-be-named school districts.
“If we find nefarious spending, I will do everything I can to prosecute,” said Huffines.
Huffines noted that the comptroller’s office has its own police force and said he has hired a new chief for the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division. He is also looking to expand the division specifically to assist with government fraud investigations.
“Historically, the state of Texas has not really focused on that very much, and most governments haven’t,” said Huffines, arguing that Texas has a “massive fraud problem.”
Gov. Greg Abbott recently tasked the comptroller’s office with conducting comprehensive audits of four school districts as part of a broader examination of public education spending.
Huffines said his office has not yet selected the districts but is currently studying which ones to investigate.
Education represents more than $100 billion in state spending, Huffines noted, making it particularly important for taxpayers to know whether the money is being spent properly and efficiently.
One area investigators will examine is administrative spending.
Huffines pointed to districts where enrollment has declined while administrative expenses have continued to rise, resulting in a greater share of education dollars being directed away from classrooms.
“I’m going to look at everything, because this is our money,” he said.
The audits will also examine whether districts are actually purchasing what they report purchasing and whether taxpayer-funded resources are being used as intended.
Huffines said he intends to make any wrongdoing uncovered by his office highly public.
“I’m not going to be the guy that buries this stuff,” he said. “If I find anything, I’m going to blow it up poster size because that’s the way you stop it when people know they can’t get away with it.”
The school district audits are part of Huffines’ effort to redirect some of the comptroller’s auditing resources toward government spending.
Huffines said auditors are being retrained to examine government entities rather than focusing exclusively on businesses.
“No government is safe from the state comptroller,” he said, listing school districts, cities, nonprofits and municipal electric companies among potential targets.
“Everybody needs to get their ship in order because I’m here.”
Huffines is also reviewing hundreds of grants administered by the comptroller’s office. He said he placed the grants on hold while examining whether recipients are using taxpayer dollars consistent with lawmakers’ intent and what recourse exists if they do not.
The agency administers more than 750 grants each year.
Huffines said the goal of the expanded scrutiny is ultimately to reduce government spending, with savings potentially available for property tax relief.
“We really don’t have a revenue problem,” said Huffines. “We have a spending problem.”
