Corrective Action Plans

Corrective action plan: TDHCA will enhance internal controls over reporting by implementing a secondary review to compare reported amounts to supporting documentation. Standard Operating Procedures will be updated to include secondary review. The formula that led to this error has already been corrected. Implementation date: March 31, 2024 Responsible person: David Johnson, HAF/TRR Data & Reporting Manager

Corrective action plan: To address the error, CMSM will add an additional layer of review for the Master Planning Summary (MPS) to be performed by the director of compliance subrecipient monitoring. In addition the MPS will be periodically provided to affected Program divisions for review. Implementation date: March 1, 2024 Responsible person: Earnest Hunt, Director of Compliance Subrecipient Monitoring

Corrective action plan: CNC – Food and Nutrition Department revised the internal Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) reporting procedures to ensure that all subaward/subaward amendment obligations over $30,000 are identified and submitted in Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) by the last day of the month following the month in which the subaward/subaward amendment obligation was made or the subcontract award/subcontract modification was made. TDA FND provided correspondence emails and incident reports documentation with screenshots for the FSRS technical issues to CLA:  CNC_NSLP grant: TDA FND informed CLA auditors that agency has been experiencing significant technical difficulties uploading the FFATA data into FSRS. During these attempts, the system shows the following error message: "Sub-awardee Awardee Address - Congressional District could not be validated/matched from the provided address and zip+4." Unfortunately, this occurred on numerous uploads (300-400) every time an attempt was made. As a disclaimer, a single error will prevent an entire report from being uploaded into the system. TDA FND staff has contacted the FSRS helpdesk many times to no avail, resulting in reports not being uploaded and causing TDA FND to be behind on the FFATA reporting.  FFVP grant: TDA allocates FFVP funds to CEs during two periods of operation. If CEs do not spend the funds, then TDA must either (1) reallocate or (2) let the funds lapse and return to USDA. Considering the nature of the grant allocation and USDA requirements of maximizing grant spending to benefit schools during this process, it might cause a discrepancy between what was reported on the FFATA report and what was adjusted after the fact. As of today, the system error continues to occur with TDA FND staff having little to no control over it. TDA would like to emphasize that the help desk process with FSRS is not expedient and would cause the loss of employee productivity if the burden to remedy the systems issues (beyond recording unsuccessful attempts) was delegated to the state. TDA FND staff will continue to prepare the reports and attempt to submit them as required. TDA FND Staff will document instances where the upload is unsuccessful. CDBG – TDA will ensure that all FFATA reports are submitted timely. For CDBG, program staff has implemented procedures to ensure that FFATA reports are prepared, reviewed by the Director of CDBG Programs, and submitted on a monthly basis. Implementation dates: CDBG: January 2024 CNC: March 1, 2024 Responsible persons: CDBG: Suzanne Barnard, Director for CDBG Programs CNC: Anwar Sophy, Administrator, TDA FND Business Management

Corrective action plan: TDA has completed the noted adjustments and submitted a corrected PR-28 for Program Year 2022 to HUD. Implementation date: February 1, 2024 Responsible person: Suzanne Barnard, Director for CDBG Programs

Corrective action plan: In this case, the filtering of the data did not pick up these two contracts. When it was determined that they had been overlooked, the reporting was completed. The source information for FFATA reporting was originally coming from the Contracts department. In order to have a more complete dataset, CDR was tasked as identifying the source data as opposed to Contracts as they are more familiar with these contracts. This change was implemented beginning in September 2023. This change should mitigate the chance of any contracts being missed. Implementation date: September 2023 Responsible person: Elizabeth Ozuna - Senior Director of Federal Finance and Grant Management

Corrective action plan: The GLO will review the process and task notes templates to correct the language to ensure it differentiates between those that have TIGR access and those that do not, and properly reflects what was reviewed and completed with an offboarding request. In addition, the GLO will review the account de-provisioning process in place to determine if it can be improved to address the account access that was available after this individual left the agency. The GLO will implement a semi-annual manual or automated account review process to identify accounts for former employees who were not properly disabled with their departure from the agency. This process will be documented as part of our overall user access review processes. Implementation date: May 15, 2024 Responsible persons: Robert Eason, Deputy Director, CDR, Pamela Mathews, Director Program Integration, CDR, Brad Kaufman, Senior Director of IT Operations.

Corrective action plan: The GLO will update the Active Directory password policy for GLOAD domain users to align it to the agency password policy as defined in GLO Identification and Authentication policy. We are unable to add the same password policy complexity and lockout settings to the on-premises, standalone MIP system as this software doesn’t provide that functionality. Implementation date: May 15, 2024 Responsible person: Brad Kaufman, Senior Director of IT Operations.

Corrective action plan: The General Ledger Cost Allocation and Chartfield teams are currently fully staffed. An aggressive plan to complete FY 2023 reallocations and catch FY 2024 reallocations up to current (one federal quarter plus one month in arrears) is in place. Implementation date: August 31, 2024 Responsible person: Heather Nevill, Director, Fund Management

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures to ensure required contracts and contract components are provided to the Department of Education when required. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The management team acknowledges this finding. At the time of the audit, management could not ascertain whether the contract with BankMobile was uploaded to the Department of Education Contract portal as there is no repository or database available to schools. This submission was completed in February 2024. Names of the contact persons responsible for corrective action: Agnes Maina Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding stale-dated check escheatment to ensure that the funds are returned to the appropriate program within 240 days from the date of issue. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The management team acknowledges this finding as it was identified and rectified during an internal audit earlier this year. Effective Fall 2023 a new process is in place that incorporates all Title IV funding into the current stale-dated refund check process. The Bursar and the Student Financial aid office will closely monitor aging checks and reissue or return funds to the Department of Education. Names of the contact persons responsible for corrective action: Stephanie Hanigan and Karinda Decker Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding enrollment reporting including additional monitoring over the third-party service provider to ensure that reporting is completed accurately and timely. Action taken in response to finding: The Student Records Specialist will increase monitoring of Clearinghouse data. SOU will also reach out to Clearinghouse to identify reports/tools that can assist with accurate and timely reporting. Issues that are identified will be communicated to the Director of Financial Aid and University Registrar for reconciliation. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Karinda Decker and Matt Stillman Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Immediately

The Superintendent and Director of Facilities will monitor each contract that must include Davis Bacon requirements, wage rate requirements, and require the contractor to complete the prescribed Department of Labor wage rate form. Timesheets will be requested from the contractor in a timely manner. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Superintendent and Director of Facilities; Information that was requested has been provided to the best of our ability. Future contracts will have required information provided during the project, and at the completion of the project.

Finding 2023-003 Information on the federal program: Subject: Education Stabilization Fund – Special Tests and Provisions - Wage Rate Requirements Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listing Number: 84.425U Federal Award Numbers: S425U210013 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions - Wage Rate Requirements Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Special Tests and Provisions – Wage Rate Requirements compliance requirements. The School Corporation did not obtain the weekly payroll reports certifications from a construction company and its subcontractors for a building project. Context: The School Corporation expended $540,000 during the audit period on a construction project for the North Central High School Kitchen/Cafeteria remodel, which was charged to the ESSER III grant award (84.425U). The construction contract did include a Davis-Bacon clause prescribing federal wage rate requirements required for construction contracts. The School Corporation did not have an internal control designed to ensure compliance with the Davis-Bacon requirement. For the 1 sample item selected for testing ($254,377), we noted that labor costs totaled $55,299. The School Corporation did not receive the weekly payroll reports as required to ensure that pay rates complied with the federal wage rate requirements. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and will take the following corrective action. Treasurer will track future projects' labor cost. 1 - The Northeast School Corporation will ensure Davis Bacon rules are included in any RFP using federal funds. The treasurer will monitor to ensure that all documentation is received and retained. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Mark A Baker, Superintendent Angel Riley, Treasurer April 2024

FINDING 2023-008 Information on the federal program: 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 Numbers: 22611-022-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking Audit Findings: Significant Deficiency Condition: The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the earmarking requirements. The Cooperative did not have adequate procedures in place to ensure that the required level of expenditures for non-public school students with disabilities was met for each member school. The Cooperative did not have effective internal controls to ensure non-public school expenditures were appropriately identified and reported. Context: The School Corporation is a member of the Greene Sullivan Special Education Cooperative (Cooperative). During fiscal year 2022-2023, the Cooperative operated the special education programs and spent the federal money on behalf of all its members. As the grant agreements were between the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and each member school, the School Corporation was responsible for ensuring and providing oversight of the Cooperative. However, there was inadequate oversight performed by the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with the Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking compliance requirement. Although the Cooperative has a separate object code to identify expenditures for the purpose of proportionate share, there is no identifier or separate way to track which member school the funding was expended for. As such, the Non-Public Proportionate Share expenditures for the 22611-022-PN01 grant award could not be verified for the individual member schools. Additionally, the Cooperative did not obtain a waiver from the Indiana Department of Education for the 22611-022-PN01 grant award, no waiver was obtained, and the amounts spent could not be traced to documentation that indicated which member school the expenditure was applied to. Also, the total amount expended for proportionate share was less than the total amount required when all member school proportionate share requirements were totaled. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance were isolated to the 22611-022-PN01 grant award. The minimum earmarking requirement for the 22611-022-PN01 grant award was $1,620. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and will take the following corrective action: 1 – Northeast School Corporation will establish a system of internal controls and procedures to ensure non-public proportionate share funds are appropriately allocated to the member school based on expenses charged directly on behalf of the member school. Supporting documentation for these expenses should be retailed for audit. 2 – Greene Sullivan Special Education Cooperative will require all staff to complete the appropriate google form following the completion of each session with Non-Public students. An example of this documentation is the Proportionate Share Service Log. This document will allow for ease of tracking funds per provider/school district. This will allow for successful usage of funds. In the event that funds are not successfully used, a waiver will be requested barring board approval. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Mark A Baker, Superintendent Effective April 2024

FINDING 2023-007 Information on the federal program: Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) - Reporting Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Programs: Special Education Grants to States, Special Education Preschool Grants Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.027, 84.027X, 84.173, 84.173X Federal Award Numbers: 19611-022-PN01, 20611-022-PN01, 21611-022-PN01, 22611-022-PN01, 22611-022-ARP, 23611-022-PN01, 20619-022-PN01, 21619-022-PN01, 22619-022-PN01, 22619-022-ARP, 23619-022-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Reporting Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the reporting requirements. The Cooperative had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to determine that requests for reimbursement were submitted accurately and agreed to supporting documentation. There was a documented oversight, review, and approval process in place; however, the Cooperative did not adequately ensure that proper procedures were followed. Context: The School Corporation is a member of the Greene-Sullivan Special Education Cooperative (Cooperative). During fiscal year 2021-2022, the Cooperative operated the special education programs and spent the federal money on behalf of all its members. As the grant agreements were between the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and each member school, the School Corporation was responsible for ensuring and providing oversight of the Cooperative. However, there was inadequate oversight performed by the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with the Reporting compliance requirement. The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the reporting requirements. The Cooperative had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to determine that requests for reimbursement were submitted accurately and agreed to supporting documentation. There was a documented oversight, review, and approval process in place; however, the Cooperative did not adequately ensure that proper procedures were followed. For fiscal year 2022, 51 Reimbursement Reports were tested. 14 Reimbursement Reports could not be traced to unit ledgers for expenditures, and 21 Reports did not have appropriate supporting documentation. For fiscal year 2023, 23 Reimbursement Reports were tested. Three Reimbursements Report did not agree to supporting documentation, and key line items could not be verified. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance were systemic issues throughout the audit period. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and will take the following corrective action: 1 – Greene Sullivan Special Education Cooperative will implement a procedure that includes the requirement of proper documentation for all reimbursement requests, such as the detailed history report for each request submitted. The Director will then review each request prior to submission. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Mark A Baker, Superintendent Effective April 2024

FINDING 2023-006 Information on the federal program: Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) – Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Programs: Special Education Grants to States, Special Education Preschool Grants Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.027, 84.027X, 84.173, 84.173X Federal Award Numbers: 19611-022-PN01, 20611-022-PN01, 21611-022-PN01, 22611-022-PN01, 22611-022-ARP, 23611-022-PN01, 20619-022-PN01, 21619-022-PN01, 22619-022-PN01, 22619-022-ARP, 23619-022-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the procurement and suspension an debarment requirements. The Cooperative had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to ensure that proper procurement procedures for micro or small purchases were followed. There was no oversight, review, or approval process in place and documented at the Cooperative to ensure proper procedures were followed and price or rate quotations were obtained, if required, or documentation to support limited procurement procedures. Context: The School Corporation is a member of the Greene-Sullivan Special Education Cooperative (Cooperative). During fiscal year 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, the Cooperative operated the special education programs and spent the federal money on behalf of all its members. As the grant agreements were between the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and each member school, the School Corporation was responsible for ensuring and providing oversight of the Cooperative. However, there was inadequate oversight performed by the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement. Procurement 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 non-Federal entity. As Indiana Code has set a more restrictive threshold of $150,000, informal procurement methods are 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. For fiscal year 2022, three vendors, totaling $88,772, were identified as being less than the simplified acquisition threshold of $150,000, but exceeding the $10,000 micro-purchase threshold. One of the three vendors was a bankcard used to pay several different vendors; however, individual determinations of amount spent by vendor could not be determined, and thus it was considered under this threshold. All three vendors were tested. For all three, the Cooperative did not obtain price or rate quotes nor was there documentation detailing the history of procurement, which must include the reason for the procurement method used. For fiscal year 2023, six vendors, totaling $264,106, were identified as being less than the simplified acquisition threshold of $150,000, but exceeding the $10,000 micro-purchase threshold. One of the six vendors was a bankcard used to pay several different vendors; however, individual determinations of amount spent by vendor could not be determined, and thus it was considered under this threshold. All six vendors were tested. For five of the six, totaling $252,906, the Cooperative did not obtain price or rate quotes nor was there documentation detailing the history of procurement, which must include the reason for the procurement method used. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance were systemic issues throughout the audit period. 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 non-procurement transaction (i.e., grant agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000. The verification is to be done by checking the SAMs exclusions, collecting a certification from that vendor, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that vendor. Upon inquiry of the School Corporation in order to review the procedures in place for verifying that a vendor with which it plans to enter into a covered transaction is not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded, the Cooperative disclosed they relied on a clause to be included in the vendor contracts to ensure compliance. Two covered transactions that equaled or exceeded $25,000 were identified. Both transactions, totaling $192,218, were selected for testing. One of the two transactions, totaling $44,883, included the appropriate clause. For the other vendor, the Cooperative did not verify the vendor’s suspension and debarment status prior to payment. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance regarding suspension and debarment were isolated to fiscal year 2023. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and will take the following corrective action: 1 – Northeast School Corporation will ensure a system of internal control and procedures are in place and appropriate procurement procedures for goods and services are followed. 2 – The Cooperative will post any openings that exceed the small purchase threshold in the local newspapers, within the office, and on the cooperative website. Any and all proposals will be presented to the Cooperative Board of Directors for approval. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Mark A Baker, Superintendent Effective April 2024

FINDING 2023-005 Information on the federal program: Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) - Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Period of Performance Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Programs: Special Education Grants to States, Special Education Preschool Grants Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.027, 84.027X, 84.173, 84.173X Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): 19611-022-PN01, 20611-022-PN01, 21611-022-PN01, 22611-022-PN01, 22611-022-ARP, 23611-022-PN01, 20619-022-PN01, 21619-022-PN01, 22619-022-PN01, 22619-022-ARP, 23619-022-PN01 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirements: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Period of Performance Audit Finding: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and Period of Performance compliance requirements. The Cooperative had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to determine that grant expenditures were for the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities, were in conformance with the applicable cost principles and were obligated during the award period of performance. There was no documented oversight, review, or approval process in place at the Cooperative to ensure expenditures were allowable, conformed with cost principles and were incurred during the period of performance. Context: The School Corporation is a member of the Greene-Sullivan Special Education Cooperative (Cooperative). During fiscal year 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, the Cooperative operated the special education programs and spent the federal money on behalf of all its members. As the grant agreements were between the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and each member school, the School Corporation was responsible for ensuring and providing oversight of the Cooperative. However, there was inadequate oversight performed by the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and Period of Performance compliance requirements. The School Corporation did not have internal controls in place to ensure that the Cooperative complied with the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, and Period of Performance compliance requirements. The Cooperative had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to determine that grant expenditures were for the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities, were in conformance with the applicable cost principles and were obligated during the award period of performance. There was no documented oversight, review, or approval process in place at the Cooperative to ensure expenditures were allowable, conformed with cost principles and were incurred during the period of performance. The lack of internal controls was a systemic issue throughout the audit period. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and will take the following corrective action: The Superintendent and Treasurer of Northeast School Corporation will review the documentation for the Cooperative at least semi-annually. Responsible party and timeline for completion: Mark A Baker, Superintendent Angel Riley, Treasurer April 2024

Finding 2023-004 Information on the federal program: Subject: Education Stabilization Fund – Special Tests and Provisions - Wage Rate Requirements Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D, 84.425U Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425D200013, S425D210013 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions - Wage Rate Requirements Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Special Tests and Provisions – Wage Rate Requirements compliance requirements. The School Corporation did not include Davis Bacon wage rate requirements in its contract with vendor which includes labor. The School Corporation did not obtain the weekly payroll reports certifications from a construction company and its subcontractors for a building project. Context: The School Corporation expended $2,354,885 during the audit period on equipment acquisitions for a new HVAC system and chiller at the North White Middle-High School building which included labor installation costs subject to federal Davis Bacon wage rate requirements. Each project had a separate vendor for a total of two vendor contracts during the audit period subject to testing for Davis Bacon wage rate requirements. The vendor contracts did not include a Davis-Bacon clause prescribing federal wage rate requirements required for construction contracts with labor installation costs. The School Corporation did not have an internal control designed to collect the weekly payroll reports certifications from a construction company and its subcontractors, as applicable, for building projects to verify prevailing wages were being paid during the project period. Therefore, no review was performed by management to ensure that pay rates complied with the federal wage rate requirements. For the period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023, $925,844 was disbursed related to these building projects and charged to the ESSER II grant award (84.425D). For the period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023, $1,429,041 was disbursed related to these building projects and charged to the ESSER III grant award (84.425U). The construction payments represented approximately 80.1% of the Education Stabilization Fund expenditures for the audit period. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding. The Corporation will make sure all contracts using federal dollars will have the Davis-Bacon clause written in the contract. The project manager will request weekly time sheets for all labor installation and verify the work has been completed. Responsible Party and Timeline for Completion: The Superintendent, Nicholas Eccles, will oversee the corrective action plan regarding the Davis-Bacon clause in future contracts which will be implemented by June 30, 2024. The Building/Maintenance Director, Dean Cook, will oversee the corrective action plan regarding the verification of time sheets for labor installation which will be implemented by June 30, 2024.

FINDING 2023-003 Information on the federal program: Subject: Education Stabilization Fund – Advance Draws Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D, 84.425U Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425D200013, S425D210013 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs- Cost Principles Audit Finding: Material Weakness, Other Matters Condition: The School Corporation requested reimbursement prior to incurring expenditures under federal grant awards. An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs- Cost Principles compliance requirements. Context: During testing disbursements charged to ESF grants, we noted the ESSER I grant award, tracked in Fund 7940, and the ESSER III grant award, tracked in Fund 7932, had a positive cash balance of $2,718 and $35,661, respectively, at June 30, 2023 as a result of advance payments received during fiscal year 2023. The School Corporation submitted a request for reimbursement on November 15, 2022 for $21,745 from the ESSER I grant award and $565,876 from the ESSER III grant award, respectively. These requests for reimbursements were partially supported by disbursements incurred as of the date of the request, however, partially include requests for advance payments that were still not fully expended as of June 30, 2023. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding. If there are any posting corrections after a reimbursement has been made and received, the Corporation Treasurer will contact IDOE (Indiana Department of Education) asking whether they would like the difference between the reimbursement and the new disbursement amount paid back to DOE or spent down within a specific time period. Responsible Party and Timeline for Completion: The Corporation Treasurer, Emma Conwell, will oversee the corrective action plan which will be implemented by June 30, 2024.

FINDING 2023-003 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster – Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Summary of Finding: Procurement: For one of the two vendors tested for small purchases an adequate number of price or rate quotes were not obtained. Suspension and Debarment: The School Corporation purchased bread, dairy produce and commodities through Region 8 Education Service Center (Region 8) However, Region 8 had not received the SFA – only Cooperative classification from IDOE for fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. As such, the School Corporation could not rely on Region 8’s verification of suspension and debarment and was required to complete their own verification. One covered transaction was identified and tested that equaled or exceeded $25,000. For the noted transaction, the School Corporation did not verify that the vendor was not excluded or disqualified from participation in federal award programs. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Susan Loftain Contact Phone Number and Email Address: (260) 693-2007 loftains@sgcs.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: Option 1: “We concur with the finding.” Description of Corrective Action Plan: Procurement: All vendors procured through Region 8 we will need to take action to secure bids and quotes and keeps copies and make we are within compliance Suspension and Debarment: We will be sure to complete our own verifications and not rely on Region 8 to check on suspension and debarment Anticipated Completion Date: Today 2/28/24

FINDING 2023-004 Finding Subject: Education Stabilization Fund – Equipment and Real Property Management Summary of Finding: An effective internal control system, which would include segregation of duties, was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the following compliance requirements: Equipment and Real Property Management The School Corporation hired a fixed asset consultant to provide a fixed asset report that was to contain all inventory through June 30, 2023. During fiscal year 2021-2022, the School Corporation purchased equipment a minibus for $56,225 and a band trailer for $12,234 with ESSER II and ESSER III funds. The mini bus or the band trailer were not added to the property record which would include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the federal award identification number (FAIN)), who holds title, the acquisition date, 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. The School did not have in place documentation of reviewing or resolving discrepancies in their physical inventory at least every two years. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Amber Rushton Contact Phone Number and Email Address: Phone Number: (765) 489-4543 Email: arushton@nettlecreek.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: “We concur with the finding.” Description of Corrective Action Plan: The Business Manager will develop a list of property purchased in the last two years. This list will be sent to the fixed asset consultant to update previous purchases. The Business Manager will develop an ongoing spreadsheet to submit to the fixed asset consultant annually to provide information on purchased assets. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2024

FINDING 2023-003 Finding Subject: Education Stabilization Fund – Reporting Summary of Finding: An effective internal control system, which would include segregation of duties, was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the following compliance requirements: Reporting The School Corporation had not designed, nor implemented a system of internal control to ensure that the annual Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) annual Data Collection reports (Reports) were complete and accurately submitted. The Reports were prepared by one employee without an oversight or review process in place to prevent, or detect and correct, errors. Additionally, for ESSER II, Year 1, annual report tested the School Corporation could provide supporting documentation that did not agree with the ESSER II, Year 1, annual report. The lack of internal controls was a systemic issue throughout the audit period. The noncompliance was isolated from ESSER 1I, Year 1 report. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Amber Rushton Contact Phone Number and Email Address: Phone Number: (765) 489-4543 Email: arushton@nettlecreek.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: “We concur with the finding.” Description of Corrective Action Plan: The Business Manager will prepare annual reports for grants and the Director of Learning and/or Superintendent will review and sign-off reports before submission. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2024

The district has contracted with the ESC of Central Ohio for an accountant to help with the timely filing of all federal grant requirements. By timely completing project cash requests we will be able to see if variances require changes in the grant budgets. This will minimize correcting entries in the last week of the fiscal year where mistakes tend to happen in the rush to close the year.

FINDING 2023-006 Finding Subject: COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund – Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Summary of Finding: The School Corporation did not have effective internal controls over the ESSER funds and there was noncompliance in regards to the ESSER funds. Employee pay did not equal what transferred and supporting documentation for substitute pay and payment of sick days when school was closed. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Jamesi Lemon and Melanie Summers Contact Phone Number and Email Address: (260) 499-2400; jlemon@lakelandlakers.net/msummers@lakelandlakers.net Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 30 A spreadsheet has been created to track the substitutes and the classes they are covering. Pay scales are also now included in the employee handbooks, so pay can be calculated correctly and tracked. Any transfers of payroll expenses are now completed monthly to ensure the correct amounts are being charged to the ESSER funds. Anticipated Completion Date: Immediately

FINDING 2023-005 Finding Subject: COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund - Reporting Summary of Finding: The School Corporation had a lack of internal controls over the ESSER reporting to the IDOE. There was no review process in place to prevent, or detect and correct, errors. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Jamesi Lemon Contact Phone Number and Email Address: (260) 499-2400; jlemon@lakelandlakers.net Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the findings. Description of Corrective Action Plan: The Director of Business Operations and Director of Staff and Student Success will meet to review the annual data reports for accuracy before they are submitted to the IDOE. The meeting will be logged and reports signed off by both individuals. Anticipated Completion Date: Immediately