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Senator Bisignano says auditor lacked cooperation in Des Moines superintendent review, calls for transparency
Summary
Senator Bisignano told the Senate his October request for audit records about licensing and background checks in the Des Moines superintendent case met no cooperation from Department of Education examiners; he criticized a 2023 law he said limited the auditor’s authority.
Senator Bisignano used floor remarks to recount a request he made to the state auditor in October for records related to the licensing and background‑check processes that enabled a Des Moines Public Schools superintendent to be hired.
Bisignano said the auditor received no cooperation from the Department of Education examiners and that agency responses were limited to letters of engagement rather than substantive records. He criticized a 2023 statute (Senate File 478) that he said constrained the auditor’s authority to obtain documentation and described the lack of answers as problematic for transparency and accountability.
Bisignano urged that legislators should be able to obtain necessary information to determine how such credentialing and hiring occurred and proposed that the matter deserves further investigation.
His remarks tied procedural questions about audit access to broader concerns about transparency in state government; no new audit findings were presented on the floor during this session.
