Finding Text
8. Criteria or specific requirement (including statutory, regulatory, or other citation: Per the US Department of Education ESSER FAQ E-3.d: E-3.d. How long may ESSER or GEER-funded activities continue after the liquidation period? Generally, it is not good stewardship of Federal funds or prudent business practice to prepay for services that will extend many years into the future. However, under limited circumstances where a grantee or subgrantee timely obligates ESSER funds, ESSER-funded activities may continue for a reasonable time beyond the liquidation period. Factors impacting how long ESSER-funded activities may extend past the liquidation period include: (1) Whether the funds were properly obligated and liquidated in a timely manner; (2) Whether the activities would be allowed to extend beyond the liquidation period under applicable State and local procurement rules; (3) Whether the extended activities constitute a reasonable and necessary use of Federal funds; and (4) Whether prudent business practices and internal controls (which generally limit prepayment) would support the continued activities for the length of time proposed. Grantees and subgrantees must obligate funds by each program’s deadline, which means that if a grantee or subgrantee enters into a contract for activities that continue past the date of obligation and the contractor does not provide the services, the grantee or subgrantee may not enter into a new contract or obligate those funds for a different allowable use. Instead, those funds that were obligated for services that were not delivered will remain unused and will be returned to the U.S. Treasury. Because these are State-administered programs, the SEA or Governor determines whether activities extending past the liquidation period are allowable under the circumstances. For example, an SEA may determine that it is reasonable and necessary under 2 CFR §§ 200.403-200.404 for an LEA to enter into a multi-year software licensing contract with a vendor during the period of availability of ARP ESSER funds and to pay for the entirety of the software license within the liquidation period. However, under the contract, the vendor would continue to provide the services (i.e., software and technical support) for some time after the funds had been liquidated. Please note that the SEA, LEA, or subgrantee would be responsible for returning to the Federal government the cost of any services that were paid with Federal funds but not received. Under no circumstances may services extend beyond the date on which funds revert to the U.S. Department of Treasury (31 USC § 1552), which occurs four years after the obligation deadline. However, nothing prevents an SEA or LEA from continuing successful activities or services with non-ESSER/GEER funding. 9. Condition: ESSER III funds were expended for a 6-year math curriculum, beginning 9/30/24 and ending 9/30/30. Additionally, ESSER III funds were expended for the 2-year prepayment of cases of paper, to be delivered periodically from November 2024 through July 2026. The services extend beyond the dates noted above and include a prepayment. 10. Questioned Costs: For the math curriculum, questioned costs have been identified of $51,233 for the service period of 9/30/28-9/30/30. It is unclear if costs of $76,849 applicable to service period 9/3/25-9/30/28 are allowable, as this would be determined by the SEA. For the prepayment of paper, questioned costs have been identified of $27,320, applicable to service period March 2025-July 2026. 11. Context: N/A 12. Effect: A portion of the Federal funds received may need to be returned to the granting agency. Because the obligation date has passed, those funds may not be re-obligated to cover otherwise eligible costs. 13. Cause: In an effort to utilize available funding, the District overlooked these requirements. 14. Recommendation: We recommend that the District gain a thorough understanding of all applicable compliance requirements prior to expending Federal funds. 15. Management's response: See corrective action plan.