Each week Editorial and Opinion Editor Jeanne Mariani-Belding hosts The Hot Seat, our opinion-page blog that brings in elected leaders and people in the news and lets you ask the questions during a live online chat.

On The Hot Seat last week was State Auditor Marion Higa, whose office just completed audits critical of operations within the state Department of Education and the Hawai'i Teacher Standards Board. Here is an excerpt from that Hot Seat session. To see the full conversation, go to The Hot Seat blog at hotseat.honadvblogs.com.

WJ: A State Auditor's report on the Hawai'i Teacher Standards Board asserts HTSB's extensions of teachers' licenses are invalid, rendering many teachers not "highly qualified" under the No Child Left Behind Law. Has any court ruled the teacher license extensions invalid? Has the U.S. Department of Education deemed these license extensions invalid and Hawai'i's teachers not "highly qualified?"

Marion Higa: Not yet, it hasn't gone to court. This was our conclusion as a result of our audit work. To respond to the second question, the answer is also negative. There is no opinion yet from U.S. DOE. We were looking at the consequences of not having validly licensed teachers by the standards board.

DoD Helen: I think it is good management and fiscal policy to have regular unannounced audits. The challenge however, is what is done after the audit to ensure accountability. What often happens is that leadership says they disagree, or will correct findings, and case closed. Follow up is crucial to ensure issues/defects are corrected or at the very least an action plan submitted that includes estimated date for correction.

What follow-up does the state do to verify that issues noted have been corrected, and what is done in regard to findings that are not corrected?

Higa: Your question applies not just to this audit; generally we don't have enforcement powers. If you look at our recommendations, they will be addressed to whichever entity we think is the cause of the problem. So, that may be the Legislature if the problem is with the statute. It may be the executive branch, there may be a remedy in the courts, once in a while we can suggest turning to the professions for corrections, especially if there are standards within the professions. In the case of the teachers, whose license extensions may not be valid, their ultimate remedy may be in the courts. The Legislature could also in this session, by statutes, extend the licenses.

Dwayne: Do you determine what departments to audit or does the governor's office or Legislature request the audit?

Higa: We can select our audit subjects or respond to legislative requests. Those we select ourselves come from public complaints sometimes, other times are the result of other work we've done but the particular subject was outside our original scope. If you have something that you would like to see audited, you can contact your legislators or our office directly.

Noah: What are some of the key steps you take when doing an audit?

Higa: I'd say the key steps among many are selecting the project team, doing preliminary research, drafting an audit plan, carrying out that plan with fieldwork which includes interviews, file reviews, cross checking numerous bits of information, maintaining our files of our information, arriving at our preliminary conclusions, drafting the report, holding an exit conference with the unit we've audited, and finally issuing the report. And maybe, fun things like meeting the media and defending our report.

Steven: I would like to know if you audited the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and if you did, what were your findings?

Higa: As a matter of fact, we have done two kinds of audits of DLNR. One are the standard financial audits. The other type are the performance audits. We've done audits not of the whole department but of the Small Boat Harbors and the Conservation Officers.

In the case of the Small Boat Harbors audits, we found many problems, including the way the permits were issued, the books were kept, and of course, the ways the harbors themselves were maintained. We also did point out that the cost of renovation was probably higher than just the fees could support. So we did recommend that the Legislature provide some funding but that the fee structure also be changed. I believe both recommendations have taken place.

With the conservation officers, we found that they had taken on many additional responsibilities as well as fallen into some poor management practices. For the first portion of our findings, the Legislature did appropriate additional funds and positions. For the second portion of our findings, the hope is that the new director can institute additional internal controls.

Jo: Are you ever surprised by any of the findings you discover while doing an audit?

Higa: Actually, you'd think by now I wouldn't be surprised. In some respects, I'm not because by the time we actually start on an audit, whether by Legislative request or upon our own initiative, the problems are quite obvious. The surprise may be in the depth or pervasiveness of the problems.

Josh: What happens when you audit a powerful state department, the administration or the Legislature? Do you get pressure from them? How independent is your office?

Higa: This is another good question, Josh. It gives me a chance to explain what's behind our office in the first place. We are in the state Constitution. The Constitutional drafters put in a number of provisions for independence and access to information. So the term of office of eight years with no term limits, removal being more difficult than appointment, our authority to subpoena for documents or testimony, and by statute, such permissions as confidentiality of our material — all of these and others give us the latitude and responsibility to take an independent lens to our audit subjects. My staff serve at my pleasure but have the benefits of state employment, the majority of my staff have advanced degrees or certifications and our work follows government auditing standards. All of these provisions and conditions let us tell it like it is.

Curtis: Would you please comment on the Monday Advertiser report that Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, is preparing to pitch a different approach to funding charter schools. He's proposing eliminating funding formulas entirely and instead have the Charter School Administrative Office submit a budget like all other state agencies.

"Historically, the approach has been to have a formula to figure out what charter schools deserve. ... Therein lies the thorny dilemma. What should they get? (State Auditor) Marion Higa at one point was asked to come up with a formula that was fair and she gave up. It's not easy," Takumi said.

Higa: It's been a while since we tried to allocate charter school monies — a responsibility we did not ask for, by the way, but which the Legislature gave to us because of the very problem that is still with us. We have not been involved lately in the allocation issue but several years ago when I sat on a task force, the funds for both operations and facilities were still a very contentious issue. I don't know that everyone will ever agree on the same interpretation of "fair." I don't have a comment on the current proposal because we have not had a recent audit involvement.

George: Where did you go to college, what is your background? How did you end up as the state auditor?

Higa: I'll start with what I'm not. I am not a CPA. I am a converted teacher. I have a BEd from UH Manoa and a MEd from the University of Illinois. I'm also a graduate of McKinley High School. I started working here before going back into the classroom. I had done some substitute teaching out of state and wanted to do some research before working for DOE from which I had an offer. I intended to work here two years but I haven't left. As I responded earlier to another question, I've been with this office for more than 38 years and that's because the work is so fascinating. I have the best job of all because I see all the reports.

Lisa: I think you guys are doing a fab job! I think more funding should be shifted toward the auditor's office. Is that going to happen any time soon? I believe you guys really help streamline government.

Higa: Thanks for your support, Lisa. The Legislature has really been generous to us. This year though, like everyone else, we were asked to help with the state's revenue picture. For the coming fiscal year, I was asked to work with 10 percent less, and we will manage. My problem has not been so much a budget issue, but as to find the right kinds of staff for a tough job. I'm probably hard to work for. But let me not discourage applicants for when the revenue picture changes.

Reach Marion Higa at (Unknown address).