Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand’s office announced Tuesday evening it will audit Des Moines Public Schools after former Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by federal immigration enforcement agents on Sept. 26.
The audit comes after Sand’s office received a confidential “qualifying request for an audit.” Under Chapter 11 of the Iowa Code, the request must come from a school employee, official, or a petition signed by local residents requesting a auditing of the district.
State law requires the auditors office or a certified public accountant to audit the finances of all public entities in the state every fiscal year.
Roberts was arrested last month after federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents stopped him in his vehicle during a traffic stop where Roberts subsequently fled. The former superintendent was later caught in a wooded area after he abandoned his vehicle containing a gun, a large hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash.
Roberts has been in the U.S. without work authorization since 2020 and received a deportation order in May 2024 after a 2023 state gun charge, according to news releases from U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Tuesday morning, during a news conference, Sand called on Des Moines Public Schools employees, elected officials, or local residents to file a qualifying request for an audit of the schools’ district. This came after criticism from Iowa Senate Republicans who called on Sand to audit the district.
“As state auditor, I believe a further review at Des Moines Public Schools around Ian Roberts’ work is important, and I welcome a qualifying request from a DMPS employee, elected official, or a petition from the public to help us do just that,” Sand said Tuesday.
However, he also called the letter by Iowa Senate Republicans “politically charged” and said it is not the place of the auditor’s office to intervene until a local official, employee, or resident submits a qualified request for an audit. Chapter 11 of the Iowa Code allows legislators to request audits of state departments and not local governments.
“That’s a good law,” Sand said. “Because it prevents politicians, who don’t really care about local issues, from tying up taxpayer resources.”
Iowa Senate Republicans said state law provides power for Sand to audit public entities in the state and said he is shirking his duties.
“Rob Sand is trying to distract from the fact that he doesn’t want to do his job and cares more about protecting his friends on the Des Moines Public School Board than being the so-called taxpayers’ watchdog,” said Iowa Sen. Jesse Gree, R- Boone, chair of the senate budget subcommittee for education. “The same day Sand rejected our ask, media reported Ian Roberts directed significant taxpayer dollars to Roberts’s own consulting firm. Today, Sand doubled-down on protecting his allies and refusing to do this job.”