Finding Text
Criteria Per 7 CFR 225.15 (c)(1), “Sponsors shall maintain accurate records justifying all meals claimed and documenting that all program funds were spent only on allowable Child Nutrition Program costs. Failure to maintain such records may be grounds for denial of reimbursement for meals served and/or administrative costs claimed during the period covered by the records in question. The sponsor's records shall be available at all times for inspection and audit by representatives of the Secretary, the Comptroller General of the United States, and the State agency for a period of three years following the date of submission of the final claim for reimbursement for the fiscal year.” Per 7 CFR 226.10 (c), “Claims for Reimbursement shall report information in accordance with the financial management system established by the State agency, and in sufficient detail to justify the reimbursement claimed… In submitting a Claim for Reimbursement, each institution shall certify that the claim is correct and that records are available to support that claim.” Condition During the procedures performed over meals claimed under the School Breakfast Program in the fiscal year 2025, it was noted that monthly meal counts recorded in the District’s Cafeteria Management System (CMS) were not fully supported by underlying documentation (e.g., meal count sheets). We sampled a total 25 daily meal counts from the months of September 2024, November 2024, and February 2025. We then validated that the meal counts recorded in the CMS for Breakfast and Lunch were supported by either meal count sheets used at the school sites or by the point-of-sale (POS) system data. As a result of our testing, we noted variances in four (4) daily meal counts between the CMS count and the meal count sheets for Breakfast in Class. Breakfast counts were overclaimed by 111 based on a total sample of 3,793 meals tested from a total reported population of 12,688,107 meals. Our samples were statistically valid samples. Cause and Effect The condition is as a result of human error while manually counting the paper meal count sheets for Breakfast in Class. Inaccurate claims of meal counts could lead to questioned costs. Questioned Costs Federal regulation 2 CFR 200.516 (a)(3) requires the auditor to report questioned costs when likely questioned costs exceed $25,000. An overclaim of $315 was identified, resulting from overclaimed quantities of 111 breakfasts multiplied by the reimbursement rate of $2.84 under the School Breakfast Program – Severe Need. Recommendation We recommend the District continue to strengthen its controls over the meal claim process to ensure that meals are accurately counted, input into CMS, and claimed for reimbursement.