OPI Fails Review by Dept. of Admin and Loses Procurement Authority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 21st, 2023

CONTACT
hadley@montanademocrats.org

This is the Second State Agency in a Year to Fail Oversight Review
 

Helena, MT – The Department of Administration has suspended the Office of Public Instruction’s authority to enter into “high-price contracts for goods and services,” after failing an audit of its procurement and contract practices. 

This is the second time in a year that a state agency has had authority or funding stripped away after failing an oversight review. Last June, Governor Greg Gianforte’s Department of Health and Human Services lost Medicaid and Medicare funding for the State Hospital for a failure to meet safety and quality standards.

The suspension at OPI follows years of mismanagement with a nearly 90% employee turnover rate. In December of 2021, the superintendents of the 8 largest school districts wrote an unprecedented public letter of “no confidence”in Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. 

“These Republicans were elected to run our state, not run it into the ground,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party.“There is mismanagement at the highest levels of the Gianforte Administration. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. This mismanagement has failed our hospitals, our health care workers, and our patients. And now, it’s failing our children, parents, teachers, and schools.” 

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