Finding Text
The Department of Education requires Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and educational entities to submit the Final Expenditure Report (FER) by December 1, 2023. LEAs and educational entities must complete the FER at the end of each fiscal year for the prior state fiscal year’s ESSER expenditures. All expenses reported on the FER should be paid. There should be no encumbered amounts. We noted that the School District filed its fiscal year 2023 final expenditure report by the required deadline. However, the School District claimed $451,166 more in expenditures on the final expenditure report than they had identified in eligible expenditures for the program. The School District was able to work with the Department of Education to resubmit their final expenditure report with the proper amounts. Overreporting expenditures could lead to noncompliance with program requirements and questioned costs. We recommend the School District adopt proper procedures to ensure that program expenditures are reported accurately.