Education Commissioner Sue Gendron did not point the finger at any one district responsible for wrong and in some cases “fraudulent” information regarding the true size of the state’s migrant population – mistakes that will cost the state more than $5 million.

While the U.S. Inspector General’s Office continues its nearly three-year probe, Gendron said she was told by the federal Department of Education last week the state has to pay back $5.3 million in migrant education aid.

That amount is based on a revised number of migrant students in the state, now estimated at 2,500 versus 10,000. At the time the probe began, the state was receiving more than $4 million in migrant aid and really should have been getting $1 million.

Expecting the worse, the state has held onto $2 million in aid over the past several years, so now will have to come up with $3 million more.

Gendron said the majority of the counting mistakes were a result of people misunderstanding the criteria for what makes a student eligible for migrant programs.

A piece of the problem, however, was “fraudulent information on eligibility certificates,” filled out by recruiters instead of parents, Gendron said.

“Recruiters had completed” what parents are supposed to fill out, she said. Those recruiters worked for local school departments, the state Department of Education or were caseworkers working with families.

“There was information that when we spoke to the family they said it was totally inaccurate,” Gendron said.

According to a handbook for migrant education teachers and recruiters on the state Department of Education Web site, outreach is an important part of the job.

The handbook reads:

“It is an extremely important function, as well as a responsibility of the Migrant Teacher/Recruiter to locate, certify, and enroll all migrant students in a school district area. One third of the Teacher/Recruiter position is RECRUITMENT for numerous reasons. The State Migrant Education Office would like to see each and every one of these children enrolled for services. Recruitment is also the function that brings the Federal dollars to our State and Local Migrant Education Programs.”

Gendron said the problem existed “all over the state.”

“I think clearly they were trying to make sure they served as many children as they could,” she said. “Folks were encouraged to not miss needy children.”

Gendron said she had no idea if the Inspector General would press charges. Under the law, willful violations carry criminal charges and the possibility of up to five years in prison.

The probe began in April of 2003 and is going back to 2000. Close to 50 districts in the state received migrant money during that time, with the greatest amount going to Portland. Last year, the department reported Portland had reduced its estimated population from a high of 1,000 to around 45.

A staff member in the state Department of Education resigned as a result of the probe and school districts have been getting only 50 percent of their allocation.

Gendron said that has allowed the state to keep more than $2 million on hold and the remaining $3 million likely will be taken out of what the state would have received going forward.

The full $1 million annual allocation won’t be eliminated, Gendron said, because the federal government wants some services provided to students.

Migrant funds pay for services ranging from tutoring to home visits, to make sure children in migrant families attend school and learn. Migrant funding also pays for summer programs to serve children whose families come here for harvest.