Finding 1166232 (2025-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2025-12-23

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The District submitted required data forms late, affecting its risk status and compliance with federal and state requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Late submissions to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse and South Carolina Department of Education jeopardize the District's low-risk auditee status and may trigger fiscal oversight.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The District must improve audit completion timelines to avoid future delays and associated penalties.

Finding Text

Criteria: The District is required to submit each year's data collection form and reporting package to the Federal Audit Clearinghous (FAC) as of the earlier of (1) nine months after the end of the audit period or (2) 30 calendar days after the District receives the auditor's report. Additionally, the District is required to submit its annual reporting package to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) by December 1 each year. Condition: The District's data collection form and reporting package were submitted to FAC and the reporting package was submitted to SCDE on June 26, 2025 for the year ended June 30, 2023, and on September 11, 2025 for the year ended June 30, 2024. Effect: The District cannon be considered a low risk auditee in determining major programs due to the late submission and is also subject to fiscal watch, fiscal caution, or fiscal emergency by the SCDE, which place additional conditions and requirements on the District. Cause: The county-wide district is the result of the consolidation of Clarendon School Districts One and Three as of July 1, 2022, to form Clarendon School District Four, and another consolidation of Clarendon School District Four and Clarendon School District Two as of July 1, 2022. At the time of consolidation, Clarendon School District One was behind in issuing its June 30, 2021 audited financial statements. This in turn affected the ability of the consolidated Clarendon County School District Four to timely complete its June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2022 audits. Due to turnovers in personnel and misplaced records, completion of all audits since then have been delayed. Recommendation: The District should ensure that audits are completed in a timely manner, going forward.

Corrective Action Plan

The audits for the former Clarendon One and Clarendon Four school districts were issued after the consolidation process began, resulting in delayed audit timelines. As a result, the fiscal year 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 audits were not finalized until June 16, 2025 and September 8, 2025, respectively. These delays directly impacted the District's ability to complete and submit the fiscal year 2024-2025 audit within the required timeframe. With the completion of the prior year audits, the District has returned to a standard audit cycle and is now positioned to finalize and submit future audits in a timely manner.

Categories

Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1166226 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166227 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166228 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166229 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166230 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166231 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166233 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166234 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $1.85M
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $1.56M
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $508,048
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $221,402
12.U01 ROTC $152,736
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $113,601
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $100,407
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $69,004
84.002 ADULT EDUCATION - BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $68,942
84.358 RURAL EDUCATION $62,683
12.U02 JAG $45,152
10.582 FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM $25,619
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $11,882
84.287 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS $9,674
10.560 STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR CHILD NUTRITION $8,485
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $7,744
84.013 TITLE I STATE AGENCY PROGRAM FOR NEGLECTED AND DELINQUENT CHILDREN AND YOUTH $7,664