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Science course under fire

Audit questions program funded by Defense Dept.

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 25, 2008 at 9:18 p.m.
Updated July 26, 2008 at 1:13 a.m.

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A science-education program in Colorado Springs funded by a Department of Defense earmark does not support the missions and goals of the department, according to a recent federal audit.

Both the administrators of the Partnership in Innovative Preparation for Educators and Students and the two senators who secured the funding said, however, that their work is vital.

The audit comes as congressional candidates debate whether earmarks, the sometimes controversial federal appropriations targeted for specific areas, should be made more transparent or even banned altogether.

In 2006, Republican Sen. Wayne Allard secured a $1.1 million earmark for the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs program. Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar extended it with a $1.6 million earmark the next year.

Developed in partnership with the Air Force, the program offers instruction to middle- school students who want to learn about science and math and prepares teachers on how to interest more students in those areas. More than 200 seventh- and eighth-graders attended events like workshops and science competitions through it last year.

Michael Perini, executive director of the National Institute of Science, Space and Security Centers, said it was created because Air Force leaders saw a worrisome decline in the number of students studying these subjects. Recruiting and retaining new generations of scientists is the only way to address military and space-industry needs, he said.

But a July 11 audit by the DOD inspector general disagreed. The report looked at 219 defense earmarks of less than $15 million granted for the 2007 fiscal year and found that just five of them, including the PIPES program, were not consistent with department goals "to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country."

Navy Cmdr. Darryn James of Defense Press Operations said the audit focused solely on whether the earmarks supported the mission of the department, so no outside personnel were consulted.

The audit also makes no recommendation regarding continued funding for the identified projects, he said.

Read the report

* To read the Department of Defense audit, go to Rocky MountainNews.com/extras