FAC Explorer

Finding 1169618 (2025-002)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-01-20
Audit: 382600
Organization: Regional School Unit 34 (ME)
Auditor: RUNYON KERSTEEN OUELLETTE

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The School Unit lacks formal controls for removing students from cohorts, risking errors in compliance with Title I requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with Title I’s graduation rate criteria, specifically the need for documented verification of student removals.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement internal control procedures, including management review and approval for all student removals from cohorts.

Finding Text

2025-002 U.S. Department of Education, For the period July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, Assistance Listing #84.010 Title IA Disadvantaged Criteria: Under Title I’s high school graduation rate requirements, to remove a student from a cohort, a school must confirm in writing, that the student transferred out, emigrated to another country, transferred to a prison or juvenile facility, or is deceased. Grant recipients are required to design and implement internal controls to ensure compliance with grant requirements and their own policies and procedures. Statement of Condition: The School Unit currently has informal controls over the process of removing students from their cohorts. Cause: Although the School Unit has maintained documentation of the students removed from their cohorts, there are limited and inconsistent controls over the removal of students from their cohorts. Effect: The School Unit runs the risk of erroneously removing students from their cohorts, which could lead to non-compliance with the requirements of Title I, and result in a loss of federal funding. Recommendations: We recommend that the School Unit implement internal control procedures to verify student removals from their cohorts. At a minimum, this should include management review and approval of all removals.

Corrective Action Plan

Management Response/Corrective Action Plan: In the rare instances when students are removed from a cohort, RSU 34's documentation through Spring 2025 has typically included emails and letters to and from the student's parents, meeting dates / documentation or attempts to engage students and families in a meeting, and/or logs of phone calls. This communication typically involves the school administration, school counselors, teachers. RSU 34 works hard to engage students in their studies and engage families in helping students to succeed. While RSU 34 views its previous practices as extremely unlikely to result in the stated risk of erroneously removing students from their cohort, RSU 34 instituted an additional formal letter in Spring of '25 and revised that into an accepted form after soliciting feedback from our auditors. Our Data Specialist has inserted that form into their workflow, ensuring it is completed by school administration when removal from a cohort is requested.

Categories

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.010 Title 1A - Disadvantaged $663,499
84.027 Local Entitlement $412,270
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $290,328
84.367 Title IIA - Supporting Effective Instruction $157,911
84.425 ARP Homeless Children & Youth II - COVID $124,625
10.553 National School Lunch Program - Breakfast Program $111,345
84.425 ARP ESSER - Learning Loss $91,341
84.425 Elementary & Secondary Emergency Relief Funds III - COVID $84,737
84.424 Title IVA - Well Rounded Education $64,913
93.566 Refugee School Impact $48,000
10.555 National School Lunch Program - Donated Commodities $32,456
10.559 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN $18,254
84.173 Preschool Grants $12,391
84.002 Adult Education Family Literacy Act $4,695
10.555 National School Lunch Program - After school snack $372