Concord, NH- House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) released the following statement in response to initial audits of the New Hampshire Education Freedom Account program.
“The New Hampshire EFA program is already subjected to substantive auditing as required by the law, including an independent audit. This is just one of many kinds of audits the department is conducting as a matter of course. Each finding produces a corrective action, and it is clear that all monies expended in error are required to be paid back.”
“The organization went to great lengths to verify eligibility. In a small handful of instances, it was given incomplete or incorrect information by applicants as part of that process. The state review shows that the scholarship fund takes the eligibility process very seriously and continues to improve its procedures to make sure that only eligible families participate. It is both disingenuous and reckless to describe the Department of Education’s robust monitoring and auditing of the wildly popular EFA program as anything other than a great success.”
“It is curious that there is so much outrage over such a minute number of people when there is reason for substantially more concern over the findings contained in the available audits of public schools. If others took the time and effort they expend to attack school choice into addressing the problems contained in the audits of public schools, we could greatly improve our school systems.”