Audit 393848

2025 - 001: Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Program Title: Child Nutrition Cluster ALN: 10.553, 10.555, 10.556, 10.559 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: 252MN061N1199, 2025 Pass-Through Agency: Minnesota Department of Education Pass-Through Number: 1-0112-000 Award Period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Criteria or Specific Requirement: The District should have controls in place to ensure compliance with suspension and debarment requirements of the Child Nutrition Cluster, per the requirements of 2 CFR §200.303. The Uniform Guidance requires that when a nonfederal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the non-federal entity must verify that the entity, as defined in 2 CFR section 180.995 and agency adopting regulations, is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. This verification may be accomplished by either checking the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA), collecting a certification from the entity, or adding a clause to the covered transaction with the entity. Condition: The District did not retain formal documentation of a control to ensure timely completion of suspension and debarment requirements. Questioned Costs: None Context: One of the two covered transactions selected for testing lacked formal control documentation showing that the District completed the required suspension and debarment verification before entering into the contract. The verification was instead performed and documented at a later date. Cause: The District’s policies and procedures did not include formal documentation of a control to ensure vendors are checked for suspension and debarment prior to entering covered transactions. Effect: The District could have entered into a covered transaction with an entity which was suspended or debarred without realizing it. Repeat Finding: Yes – 2024-004 Recommendation: We recommend that the District review its procurement policies and controls to ensure there is a formally documented control to ensure all vendors are checked for suspension and debarment prior to entering into a covered transaction. View of Responsible Official: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.

2025 - 002: Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Program Title: Special Education Cluster ALN: 84.027 and 84.173 Federal Award Identification Numbers and Year: H027A240087 & H173A240086, 2025 Pass-Through Agency: Minnesota Department of Education Pass-Through Numbers: H027A230087 & H173A230086 Award Period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Criteria or Specific Requirement: The District should have controls in place to ensure compliance with suspension and debarment requirements of the Special Education Cluster, per the requirements of 2 CFR §200.303. The Uniform Guidance requires that when a non-federal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the non-federal entity must verify that the entity, as defined in 2 CFR section 180.995 and agency adopting regulations, is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. This verification may be accomplished by either checking the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA), collecting a certification from the entity, or adding a clause to the covered transaction with the entity. Condition: The District did not retain formal documentation of a control to ensure timely completion of suspension and debarment requirements. Questioned Costs: None Context: The one covered transaction selected for testing lacked formal control documentation showing that the District completed the required suspension and debarment verification before entering into the contract. The verification was instead performed and documented at a later date. Cause: The District’s policies and procedures did not include formal documentation of a control to ensure vendors are checked for suspension and debarment prior to entering covered transactions. Effect: The District could have entered into a covered transaction with an entity which was suspended or debarred without realizing it. Repeat Finding: Yes – 2024-005 Recommendation: We recommend that the District follow its procurement policies as well as requirements within the Uniform Guidance to perform the proper verification procedures on all covered transactions entered into with federal funds. Also, the District should ensure there is a formally documented control to ensure all vendors are checked for suspension and debarment prior to entering into a covered transaction. View of Responsible Official: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.