The state has launched a "significant number" of audits of school districts statewide to determine how widespread enrollment padding is to support applications for construction funds. The audits were ordered after state officials found "material inaccuracies" in Beaumont Unified School District's enrollment projections and withheld millions in previously approved funds pending further verification.

Lake Elsinore Unified, Menifee Union and Perris Union High School districts all confirmed by telephone this week that they are being audited by the state Office of Public School Construction, which wants them to justify their five-year enrollment growth projections. Val Verde Unified School District's records also have been reviewed. Since 1998, Sacramento has allocated state school-bond money based largely on those projections.

The targeted Riverside County districts are those that projected five-year residential growth in excess of 50 percent since 1998. Enrollment projections for most San Bernardino County districts were less than 20 percent for the same period.

Bruce Hancock, liaison between the Office of Public School Construction in Sacramento and the appointed State Allocation Board, declined to confirm which California school districts are under review. However, he acknowledged in a telephone interview that Sacramento started "a significant number" of audits statewide as a result of Beaumont's situation.

"I don't want to leave the impression we have a large group of districts that appear to have a problem," Hancock said.

"Our intent is to be able to say with confidence that Beaumont's situation was an isolated problem -- and if not an isolated problem, to address it in some way."

False information

The State Allocation Board determined on July 2 that Beaumont had "material inaccuracies" on its funding applications and submitted false information that gave it an unfair funding advantage over needier districts.

While appropriating $54 million to Beaumont the same day for several justifiable construction projects, the board revoked its earlier approval of another $49 million in state construction funding for 10 other Beaumont projects. This was money the district had not yet received but would have gotten had it not been for the audit.

Board members gave the district three years either to resubmit valid applications and supporting documentation to recoup the $49 million, or, if unable to do so, repay $8.8 million in planning money it has received so far for those 10 projects.

Although the district ultimately could recapture part of the $49 million, Hancock said the state board probably will not restore hardship status to those projects. That means Beaumont would have to come up with as much as $24.5 million on its own instead of the state paying 100 percent of the costs, he said.

Beaumont school officials have maintained that they did not deliberately pad district growth projections but simply misinterpreted state guidelines covering the kind of documents that can be used to back up future growth claims.

"In fairness to Beaumont," Hancock said, "we believed we needed to review other districts in both Northern and Southern California to ascertain whether there were similar issues."

Random selections

Hancock said the state has tried to balance its choice of districts to audit. It does not want the perception that Sacramento has singled out Southern California school districts, he said, even though the southern region is the fastest growing part of the state.

"We randomly selected a number of districts, mainly ones claiming the largest enrollment increases between 1998 and 2002," Hancock said. "We felt we owed it to all the school districts in the state and to the state school-bond voters to do this."

The State Allocation Board reduced by half Val Verde Unified School District's application for planning grant funds last month because the district, which serves parts of Perris, Moreno Valley and Mead Valley, couldn't verify its enrollment projections.

Val Verde district officials had filed papers indicating they were planning for about 11,500 new students in the next five years, enough to fill six future schools in areas where housing developments are planned.

Lake Elsinore has no construction funding applications pending in Sacramento. It already has received state funding for schools it built since 1998 and others it currently is building or remodeling, including a new high school and reconstruction and expansion of an existing high school and three elementary schools.

Kenn Young, Lake Elsinore deputy superintendent, said, "We're not expecting any surprises out of this. The state has just asked for a copy of any tentative tract maps we have."

Barry Kayrell, acting superintendent of Perris Union High School District, and Dan Wood, assistant superintendent in the Menifee Union School District south of Sun City, said the state has asked to see supporting documentation for their projections.

"We've gotten a letter asking for tentative tract maps used in our growth projections," Wood said. "We sent them a number of maps based on their request. They sent back a letter saying they noticed some discrepancies.

"We haven't finished the analysis, so we're not in a position to respond comprehensively at this time."