FAC Explorer

Audit 339133

FY End
2023-06-30
Total Expended
$435.65M
Findings
6
Programs
38
Organization: Milwaukee Public Schools (WI)
Year: 2023 Accepted: 2025-01-21
Auditor: Baker Tilly US LLP

Organization Exclusion Status:

Findings

ID Ref Severity Repeat Requirement
519856 2023-009 Significant Deficiency - F
519857 2023-009 Significant Deficiency - F
519858 2023-010 Significant Deficiency Yes N
1096298 2023-009 Significant Deficiency - F
1096299 2023-009 Significant Deficiency - F
1096300 2023-010 Significant Deficiency Yes N

Programs

ALN Program Spent Major Findings
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $85.52M - 0
10.555 National School Lunch Program $37.10M Yes 0
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $23.82M - 0
10.553 School Breakfast Program $11.83M Yes 0
93.600 Head Start $10.68M Yes 0
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $9.42M Yes 1
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $6.22M Yes 0
84.287 Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers $5.72M - 0
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) $4.26M - 0
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $2.44M - 0
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $2.06M - 0
10.582 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program $1.90M Yes 0
84.173 Special Education Preschool Grants $1.27M - 0
84.206 Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education $1.17M - 0
84.377 School Improvement Grants $1.08M - 0
93.600 Covid-19 Head Start $846,648 Yes 0
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $845,911 - 0
10.559 Summer Food Service Program for Children $664,945 Yes 0
16.710 Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants $627,425 - 0
84.299 Indian Education -- Special Programs for Indian Children $531,645 - 0
66.469 Geographic Programs - Great Lakes Restoration Initiative $480,000 - 0
15.662 Great Lakes Restoration $401,580 - 0
84.282 Charter Schools $297,923 - 0
10.185 Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program $250,000 - 0
84.351 Arts in Education $248,442 - 0
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $185,374 - 0
84.196 Education for Homeless Children and Youth $174,058 - 0
84.184 School Safely National Activities $168,850 - 0
84.411 Education Innovation and Research (formerly Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund) $155,971 - 0
84.215 Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Promise Neighborhoods; Full-Service Community Schools; and Congressionally Directed Spending for Elementary and Secondary Education Community Projects $120,623 - 0
10.935 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production $104,399 - 0
84.060 Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies $98,978 - 0
84.425 Covid 19 Education Stabilization Fund $43,127 Yes 0
93.566 Refugee and Entrant Assistance State/replacement Designee Administered Programs $39,870 - 0
66.609 Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks $25,697 - 0
10.575 Farm to School Grant Program $13,315 - 0
10.226 Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom $9,324 - 0
10.902 Soil and Water Conservation $293 - 0

Contacts

Name Title Type
JNR9Q7M4LXQ5 Aycha Sawa Auditee
4147739820 Wendi Unger Auditor
No contacts on file

Notes to SEFA

Title: Basis of Presentation Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. Milwaukee Public Schools (the District) was established on February 3, 1846 and operates under Chapter 119 of the Wisconsin Statutes. All significant operations of the District are included in the scope of the Single Audit in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) and the State Single Audit Guidelines. All financial assistance programs of the District which involve awards from the federal government or federal awards passed through the State of Wisconsin and certain state assistance programs, as required by the Uniform Guidance and the State Single Audit Guidelines, are included in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards present only a selected portion of the operations of the District, they are not intended to and do not present the financial position or changes in net position of the District. Programs subject to the Single Audit - federal and state program awards received by the District have been included in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards. Federal and state programs are defined as major through a risk-based approach.
Title: Contingency Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. All federal and state award programs are subject to review and audit by the grantor agencies. Such audits could lead to requests for reimbursement to the grantor agencies for costs disallowed under the terms of the programs. It is the opinion of management that all costs charged against those federal and state programs are allowable under the regulations of those programs.
Title: Program Disclosures Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are organized by awarding agency.
Title: Cognizant Agencies Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. The U.S. Department of Education and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction have been designated as federal and state cognizant agencies, respectively, for the District.
Title: Special Education Costs Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. Eligible costs for special education under project 011 were $184,237,247 for the year ended June 30, 2023.
Title: Pass-Through Entities Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. The District received federal awards from the following pass-through entities: MU Marquette University NFWF National Fish and Wildlife Foundation SHU Sacred Heart University WI DCF Wisconsin Department of Children and Families WI DHS Wisconsin Department of Health Services WI DOJ Wisconsin Department of Justice WI DPI Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction WI DOT Wisconsin Department of Transportation Pass-through entity identifying numbers are presented when available.
Title: Subsequent Event - Suspension of Head Start (ALN 93.600) Accounting Policies: Revenues and Expenditures Revenues and expenditures in the Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards are presented in accordance with the modified accrual basis of accounting and have been reconciled to the District's fiscal 2023 basic financial statements. Grantor reimbursements reflect amounts received from the various funding agencies during the year. Receivables at year-end consist of federal and state program expenditures scheduled for reimbursement to the District in the succeeding year while deferred revenues represent advances for federal and state programs that exceed recorded District expenditures. Subrecipients Certain program funds are passed through the District to subrecipient organizations. The Schedules of Expenditures of Federal and State Awards do not contain separate schedules disclosing how the subrecipients outside of the District's control utilized the funds. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Indirect costs are allocated to certain grant programs based upon rates established by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The District has not elected to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate permitted under the Uniform Guidance. On April 29, 2024, the District was notified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start (OHS) of the suspension of federal funding for the Head Start program, effective May 21, 2024, due to noncompliance identified during OHS’s monitoring review conducted in January 2023, March 2023 and July 2023. The noncompliance issues identified during those monitoring reviews include (1) failure to maintain the required classroom teacher/child ratio, which resulted in the inability of the program staff to address the basic health and safety needs of children; (2) lack of supervision and child maltreatment; and (3) multiple safety incidents related to lack of supervision, respectively. Additional safety incidents occurred in the program between November 2023 and February 2024.

Finding Details

Finding 2023-009
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D and 84.425U Federal Program Name: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pass-Through Identification Number: 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFII - 163 and 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFIII - 165 Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.313(d)(1), property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), who holds title, the acquisition date and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the property. Condition/Context: The District maintains a list of capitalized equipment in BusinessPlus using the Fixed Asset module. However, of the three pieces of equipment sampled, one was put into service in January 2023 but was not entered into BusinessPlus until the subsequent fiscal year. Additionally, the other two pieces of equipment sampled did not contain all the required information in BusinessPlus. The following pieces of information were missing from the listing: • the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), • who holds title, and • the sales price of the property, if disposed. This was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The Department of Facilities and Maintenance services had staff changes, and it was not discovered until well after the new staff were in place that the former staff member had missed entering the record. Additionally, the District was unaware of the property records requirement as equipment is not frequently purchased with federal funds. Effect: When the funding source for fixed assets is not tracked, if an asset is disposed of via a sale, the federal program may not receive the proceeds of the sale at the appropriate proportional rate. Questioned Costs: None noted. Recommendation: We recommend that the District enter fixed assets into BusinessPlus in a timely manner and record all the information required by the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.
Finding 2023-009
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D and 84.425U Federal Program Name: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pass-Through Identification Number: 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFII - 163 and 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFIII - 165 Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.313(d)(1), property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), who holds title, the acquisition date and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the property. Condition/Context: The District maintains a list of capitalized equipment in BusinessPlus using the Fixed Asset module. However, of the three pieces of equipment sampled, one was put into service in January 2023 but was not entered into BusinessPlus until the subsequent fiscal year. Additionally, the other two pieces of equipment sampled did not contain all the required information in BusinessPlus. The following pieces of information were missing from the listing: • the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), • who holds title, and • the sales price of the property, if disposed. This was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The Department of Facilities and Maintenance services had staff changes, and it was not discovered until well after the new staff were in place that the former staff member had missed entering the record. Additionally, the District was unaware of the property records requirement as equipment is not frequently purchased with federal funds. Effect: When the funding source for fixed assets is not tracked, if an asset is disposed of via a sale, the federal program may not receive the proceeds of the sale at the appropriate proportional rate. Questioned Costs: None noted. Recommendation: We recommend that the District enter fixed assets into BusinessPlus in a timely manner and record all the information required by the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.
Finding 2023-010
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 93.778 Federal Program Name: Medicaid Cluster Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Health Services Pass-Through Identification Number (Year): 2023 Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding of 2022-004. Criteria: According to the Wisconsin School-Based Services Medicaid Cost Report and Cost Settlement Training Guide, the IEP ratio is reported within the General and Statistical Information section of the online annual cost report and is used to apportion Medicaid allowable costs versus total special education costs for direct medical services. The IEP ratio is made up of the Number of Unique Medicaid Eligible with a prescribed Medical Service in the IEP (numerator) and the Number of Unique SPED Students with a prescribed Medical Service in the IEP. Condition: The numerator of the IEP ratio reported in the FY22 annual cost report was not supported by the list of Medicaid-eligible students and was overstated by 57 students. The ratio reported in the annual cost report was 32.29% and the ratio calculated based on the number of Medicaid-eligible students should have been 31.59%. The District was able to resubmit the FY22 IEP ratio and did so once it was brought to their attention. Context: The numerator and denominator of the IEP ratio were compared to the student listing. No sampling occurred for this test. Cause: The numerator was based on a calculation rather than a list of Medicaid-eligible students. Effect: Since the IEP Ratio is used to apportion Medicaid allowable costs versus total special education costs for direct medical services, the Medicaid apportionment could be incorrect. Questioned Costs: Could not be determined. Recommendation: We recommend the IEP ratio be supported by a list of Medicaid-eligible students and a list of the total number of IEP students that receive a medical service. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.
Finding 2023-009
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D and 84.425U Federal Program Name: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pass-Through Identification Number: 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFII - 163 and 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFIII - 165 Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.313(d)(1), property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), who holds title, the acquisition date and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the property. Condition/Context: The District maintains a list of capitalized equipment in BusinessPlus using the Fixed Asset module. However, of the three pieces of equipment sampled, one was put into service in January 2023 but was not entered into BusinessPlus until the subsequent fiscal year. Additionally, the other two pieces of equipment sampled did not contain all the required information in BusinessPlus. The following pieces of information were missing from the listing: • the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), • who holds title, and • the sales price of the property, if disposed. This was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The Department of Facilities and Maintenance services had staff changes, and it was not discovered until well after the new staff were in place that the former staff member had missed entering the record. Additionally, the District was unaware of the property records requirement as equipment is not frequently purchased with federal funds. Effect: When the funding source for fixed assets is not tracked, if an asset is disposed of via a sale, the federal program may not receive the proceeds of the sale at the appropriate proportional rate. Questioned Costs: None noted. Recommendation: We recommend that the District enter fixed assets into BusinessPlus in a timely manner and record all the information required by the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.
Finding 2023-009
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D and 84.425U Federal Program Name: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pass-Through Identification Number: 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFII - 163 and 2022 - 403619 - DPI - ESSERFIII - 165 Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.313(d)(1), property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), who holds title, the acquisition date and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the property. Condition/Context: The District maintains a list of capitalized equipment in BusinessPlus using the Fixed Asset module. However, of the three pieces of equipment sampled, one was put into service in January 2023 but was not entered into BusinessPlus until the subsequent fiscal year. Additionally, the other two pieces of equipment sampled did not contain all the required information in BusinessPlus. The following pieces of information were missing from the listing: • the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), • who holds title, and • the sales price of the property, if disposed. This was not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The Department of Facilities and Maintenance services had staff changes, and it was not discovered until well after the new staff were in place that the former staff member had missed entering the record. Additionally, the District was unaware of the property records requirement as equipment is not frequently purchased with federal funds. Effect: When the funding source for fixed assets is not tracked, if an asset is disposed of via a sale, the federal program may not receive the proceeds of the sale at the appropriate proportional rate. Questioned Costs: None noted. Recommendation: We recommend that the District enter fixed assets into BusinessPlus in a timely manner and record all the information required by the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.
Finding 2023-010
Federal Assistance Listing Number: 93.778 Federal Program Name: Medicaid Cluster Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Pass-Through Name: Wisconsin Department of Health Services Pass-Through Identification Number (Year): 2023 Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding of 2022-004. Criteria: According to the Wisconsin School-Based Services Medicaid Cost Report and Cost Settlement Training Guide, the IEP ratio is reported within the General and Statistical Information section of the online annual cost report and is used to apportion Medicaid allowable costs versus total special education costs for direct medical services. The IEP ratio is made up of the Number of Unique Medicaid Eligible with a prescribed Medical Service in the IEP (numerator) and the Number of Unique SPED Students with a prescribed Medical Service in the IEP. Condition: The numerator of the IEP ratio reported in the FY22 annual cost report was not supported by the list of Medicaid-eligible students and was overstated by 57 students. The ratio reported in the annual cost report was 32.29% and the ratio calculated based on the number of Medicaid-eligible students should have been 31.59%. The District was able to resubmit the FY22 IEP ratio and did so once it was brought to their attention. Context: The numerator and denominator of the IEP ratio were compared to the student listing. No sampling occurred for this test. Cause: The numerator was based on a calculation rather than a list of Medicaid-eligible students. Effect: Since the IEP Ratio is used to apportion Medicaid allowable costs versus total special education costs for direct medical services, the Medicaid apportionment could be incorrect. Questioned Costs: Could not be determined. Recommendation: We recommend the IEP ratio be supported by a list of Medicaid-eligible students and a list of the total number of IEP students that receive a medical service. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs with the finding.