After Huffines’ defeat, Austin ISD halts cooperation with state investigation

The Austin school district has halted its cooperation with a state investigation into its spending, challenging the comptroller’s authority to question district employees and demanding answers about why investigators are seeking information about library books, sex education and student identification.

The move comes just days after Texas voters ousted Republican Comptroller Don Huffines, whose office launched the investigation after Gov. Greg Abbott requested audits of up to four school districts.

State investigators did not arrive for a scheduled visit Monday after Austin ISD notified the comptroller’s office Friday that it would suspend its participation, a district spokesperson confirmed.

The confrontation threatens to derail Austin ISD’s participation in one of four school district investigations Huffines’ office launched in October. The reviews were intended to determine whether taxpayer money was being directed toward students, classrooms and teachers rather than administrative expansion, with findings due Dec. 31, ahead of the next legislative session.

In a four-page letter sent Friday, Austin ISD General Counsel Kenneth Walker questioned whether the comptroller had the authority to conduct extensive employee interviews, whether the investigation could be completed fairly on such a short timeline and why investigators were requesting records that appeared unrelated to school spending.

“Consequently, we respectfully discontinue our participation and will not be available next week, November 9-13 for any site visits or interviews,” Walker wrote.

The election has also cast uncertainty over the investigation’s future. In her first news conference after defeating Huffines, Austin-area Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said last week she would limit the reviews to school finances rather than examining library books and hiring policies, according to KERA, the Dallas-area NPR affiliate.

Eckhardt received a copy of Austin ISD’s letter, her office confirmed Monday, but referred Austin Current to her previous comments indicating she would “immediately curtail” the reviews.

But Huffines remains in office, and the reviews are scheduled to be completed before Eckhardt takes over. It remains unclear whether his office will continue the investigation without Austin ISD’s cooperation or respond to the district’s objections. Huffines could not be reached for comment.

The district left open the possibility of resuming cooperation if the comptroller’s office satisfactorily addresses its concerns.

Austin ISD said it had already provided hundreds of pages of documents and expected investigators to interview 30 to 40 employees, some for hours, while evaluating district programs and facilities.

But with the investigation’s final report due Dec. 31, Austin ISD questioned whether the comptroller could thoroughly evaluate the information collected from all districts. The process, Austin ISD argued, offered no follow-up visits or guaranteed opportunity to review and respond to findings before publication.

“As of now, the process as described and the associated timeline cast significant doubt on the accuracy of any final product of this investigation,” Walker wrote.

The district also questioned whether the comptroller has the legal authority to require employee interviews. Austin ISD cited a provision of the Texas Tax Code requiring public officials to provide books, records and accounts during certain investigations, arguing the statute does not clearly establish the same obligation for interviews.

The scope of those investigations had also expanded, according to the letter. District officials initially expected investigators to question about 12 senior administrators, but on Nov. 5, the comptroller’s office identified more than 32 employees it wanted to interview.

“The inconsistency, coupled with the large number of staff that have been identified, has prompted a question for us as to whether there is authority to interview Austin ISD staff at all,” the letter said.

Perhaps the district’s most pointed challenge concerned what investigators wanted to examine, questioning why investigators were seeking records unrelated to the stated purpose of reviewing school spending.

Although the comptroller’s office said it was examining whether the district spending complied with state law and prioritized classrooms over administrative costs, its document requests extended to the district’s library catalogue, policies governing human sexuality curriculum and instructional materials, and “the aggregate number of students enrolled and in attendance using a Social Security number and separately using a state approved alternative identification number.”

“The motivations for this investigation do not seem aligned with the statutory purpose,” Walker wrote. “Put differently, there is no clear scope.”