FINDING 2025-002 Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Programs: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program for Children Assistance Listings Numbers: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): FY 2023-2024, FY 2024-2025 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Modified Opinion Condition and Context An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 17 PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Procurement - Small Purchases Federal regulations allow for informal procurement methods when the value of the procurement for property or services does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, which is set at $250,000 unless a lower, more restrictive threshold is set by a nonfederal entity. As Indiana Code has set a more restrictive threshold of $150,000, the informal procurement method is permitted when the value of the procurement does not exceed $150,000. This informal process allows for methods other than the formal bid process. The informal process is divided between two methods based on thresholds. Micro-purchases, typically for those purchases $10,000 or under, and small purchase procedures for those purchases above the micro-purchase threshold, but below the simplified acquisition threshold. Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive price rate quotations. If small purchase procedures are used, then price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources. A total of six claims were determined to require small purchase procedures. Of the six claims, totaling $334,605, four were selected for testing. For two of the four claims selected, the School Corporation did not obtain an adequate number of price or rate quotations. Additionally, documentation detailing the history of procurement, which must include the reason for the procurement method used, was absent for these two vendors. Suspension and Debarment Prior to entering into subawards and covered transactions with federal award funds, recipients are required to verify that such contractors and subrecipients are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded. "Covered transactions" include, but are not limited to, contracts for goods and services awarded under a nonprocurement transaction (i.e., grant agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000. The verification is to be done by checking the SAM exclusions, collecting a certification from that person, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person. Upon inquiry, the School Corporation indicated that all service contracts contain a provision regarding suspension and debarment and that the contracts were reviewed and signed by a knowledgeable member of the School Corporation. A population of four covered transactions for goods or services totaling $306,482, all of which equaled or exceeded the $25,000 threshold paid from the Child Nutrition funds during the audit period, was identified and selected for testing. For two of the four selected transactions, the School Corporation did not verify that the vendor was not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from or eligible for participation in federal assistance programs or activities prior to issuing payment. The lack of effective internal controls and noncompliance were systemic issues throughout the audit period. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 18 PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.318 states in part: "(a) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. . . . (i) The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. . . ." 2 CFR 200.320 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. (a) Informal procurement methods. When the value of the procurement for property or services under a Federal award does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), as defined in § 200.1, or a lower threshold established by a non-Federal entity, formal procurement methods are not required. The non-Federal entity may use informal procurement methods to expedite the completion of its transactions and minimize the associated administrative burden and cost. The informal methods used for procurement of property or services at or below the SAT include: (2) Small purchases — (i) Small purchase procedures. The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which is higher than the micro-purchase threshold but does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. If small purchase procedures are used, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources as determined appropriate by the non-Federal entity." 2 CFR 180.300 states: "When you enter into a covered transaction with another person at the next lower tier, you must verify that the person with whom you intend to do business is not excluded or disqualified. You do this by: (a) Checking SAM Exclusions; or (b) Collecting a certification from that person; or INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 19 PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) (c) Adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person." Cause The School Corporation did not have adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with procurement and suspension and debarment requirements. The Food Service Director was unaware of specific federal requirements regarding procurement thresholds for small purchases and the mandatory verification of vendor suspension and debarment status for transactions exceeding $25,000. The Director relied solely on the Food Service Center to ensure compliance. In addition, the School Corporation utilized additional vendors outside of the center's management scope without independently verifying their compliance status. Effect The lack of an effective internal control system enabled material noncompliance to occur and remain undetected. Noncompliance with the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement could enable small purchases made by the School Corporation to be uncompetitive and could lead to contracting with vendors who are suspended or debarred from receiving federal grant funding. Noncompliance with the grant agreement and the compliance requirement could result in the loss of future federal funds to the School Corporation. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that management of the School Corporation establish a proper system of internal controls and develop policies and procedures to ensure there are appropriate procurement procedures for goods and services and contractors and subrecipients, as appropriate, are verified to not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded prior to entering into any contracts or subawards. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.
FINDING 2025-001 Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) - Earmarking Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: Special Education Grants to States Assistance Listings Number: 84.027 Federal Award Number and Year (or Other Identifying Number): 24611-009-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Other Matters INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 15 PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the immediately prior audit report. The prior audit finding number was 2023-004. Condition and Context The School Corporation did not have an effective internal control system in place to ensure compliance with the earmarking requirements and to ensure that the required level of expenditures for nonpublic school students with disabilities was met. Specifically, internal controls were not designed to ensure expenditures for nonpublic school students with disabilities were appropriately identified, tracked in the accounting records, and accurately reported. The School Corporation did not meet the earmarking requirements for grant award number 24611-009-PN01. The required expenditures for nonpublic proportionate share was $4,330; however, the School Corporation could only provide documentation of expenditures totaling $2,250. This resulted in an underexpenditure of $2,080 relative to the required set-aside amount for the grant. In addition, the School Corporation did not track the expenditures in a separate line item within the ledger to specifically identify services provided for nonpublic school students. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance was isolated to 24611-009-PN01 grant award. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.403 states in part: "Except where otherwise authorized by statute, costs must meet the following general criteria in order to be allowable under Federal awards: . . . (g) Be adequately documented. . . ." 2 CFR 200.208(b) states in part: "The Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity may adjust specific Federal award conditions as needed, . . ." 511 IAC 7-34-7(b) states: "The public agency, in providing special education and related services to students in nonpublic schools must expend at least an amount that is the same proportion of the public agency total subgrant under 20 U.S.C. 1411(f) as the number of nonpublic school students with disabilities, who are enrolled by their parents in nonpublic schools within its boundaries, is to the total number of students with disabilities of the same age range." INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 16 PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Cause The School Corporation had a lack of documented internal controls and oversight regarding specific grant compliance requirements. The School Corporation Treasurer was unaware of the mandate to separately track and ensure full expenditure of nonpublic proportionate share funds. This lack of knowledge led to an unverified assumption that the Special Education Cooperative was performing this tracking function on the School Corporation's behalf, which was not the case. Effect The School Corporation's lack of internal controls resulted in noncompliance with federal earmarking requirements and the terms of the grant award. The outcome was an underexpenditure of $2,080, representing funds intended for eligible nonpublic students. This amount constitutes questioned costs and may be subject to repayment to the granting agency. Noncompliance with the provisions of federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award could result in the loss of future federal funding to the School Corporation. Questioned Costs We identified $2,080 in known questioned costs as noted above in the Condition and Context. Recommendation Management of the School Corporation should develop written policies and procedures which would require tracking of actual nonpublic proportionate share expenditures. Documentation should be maintained to show how these expenditures are being tracked to ensure compliance with the earmarking requirements. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.