Schools get cash despite false data Maquoketa district can keep a federal grant of $600,000. By JASON CLAYWORTH Register Staff Writer 10/04/2000

Maquoketa school officials will keep $600,000 in federal health-care money even though the grant application used 3-year-old statistics from another district, federal officials said Tuesday.

The superintendent blames the error on a consulting company. A school board member doesn't like the excuse.

The money will be spent for a variety of health-related services for students, including physician referrals and the distribution of free toothbrushes, said Eileen Holloran, grant program coordinator for the federal office of Rural Health Policy.

She said Maquoketa's application used statistics from the Washington school district, which secured the three-year grant in 1997.

Among other errors, the Maquoketa application said the money would:

* Serve 12 schools in the districts. Maquoketa has four buildings.

* Serve more than 3,500 students. The district has about 1,600 students.

Nearly 150 other institutions were denied the grant, Holloran said. She said Maquoketa's mistakes were accidental.

Superintendent Rod Montang, who signed the grant application, said the bad information was added by the Higher Plain Inc., a nonprofit grant-writing company in Iowa City.

Ron Mirr, executive director of Higher Plain, blamed a computer's find-and-replace function.

"We did it at the last minute," he said.

Higher Plain will be paid about $155,000 for the work.

School board member Bruce Pauls said the mistake should never have happened.

"I think it's very inappropriate," he said. "I started reading it and couldn't quit. I'd say 80 percent was erroneous."

Montang said the school submitted a corrected application by Friday. School board members voted to keep using Higher Plains' services

Bill Potter, a member of the City Council, said the buck should stop at Montang's door.

"That's about like you and me signing a blank check," he said.

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/12545123.html

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), October 05, 2000