Finding 1173448 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-13

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The District lacked proper internal controls to ensure meal counts for reimbursement matched supporting documentation, leading to inaccurate reporting.
  • Impacted Requirements: Noncompliance with reporting criteria under 7 CFR §210.8 resulted in funding losses for the Child Nutrition Cluster.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement stronger documentation practices and management reviews of meal counts before submitting claims to the Arizona Department of Education.

Finding Text

Finding Number: 2025‐001 Repeat Finding: No Program Name/Assistance Listing Title: Child Nutrition Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Award Numbers: 6AZ300400, 7AZ300AZ3 Pass‐Through Agency: Arizona Department of Education Questioned Costs: N/A Type of Finding: Noncompliance, Significant Deficiency Compliance Requirement: Reporting Criteria According to 7 CFR §210.8, the District shall establish internal controls which ensure the accuracy of meal counts prior to the submission of the monthly claim for reimbursement. Condition The District did not have internal controls in place to ensure the number of meals reported for reimbursement agreed to supporting documentation. Cause The supporting documentation did not agree to the child nutrition claims submitted. Effect The District did not comply with reporting compliance requirements for Child Nutrition Cluster. This incorrect reporting resulted in a loss of funding for the District. Context For the three months reviewed:  On the January claim, the meal counts submitted for one school site between lunch and breakfast were erroneously swapped. This led to the January claim being understated by $7,568.  On the March claim, the meal counts for breakfast and lunch were erroneously swapped across multiple school sites. Additionally, total meals did not agree between the child nutrition claim and District support. This led to the January claim being understated by $19,004. The sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample. Recommendation The District should ensure adequate supporting documentation is maintained and the monthly meal reimbursements are reviewed by management before submission to the ADE. More care should be taken to ensure not only that meal counts agree to supporting documentation, but also that meal counts are reported in their proper category to ensure the proper reimbursements are received by the District. Views of Responsible Officials See Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding Number: 2025‐001 Program Name/Assistance Listing Title: Child Nutrition Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Contact Person: Jessica Johnston, Chief Financial Officer Anticipated Completion Date: August 20, 2025, immediately following the determination that the number of meals reported for reimbursement for the January and March claims did not agree to supporting documentation. Planned Corrective Action: The District has modified its internal controls related to child nutrition claims. The revised procedures include a secondary verification of reimbursable meals, which is completed and submitted by personnel independent of the data entry process.

Categories

Cash Management Reporting School Nutrition Programs Significant Deficiency Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1173445 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1173446 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1173447 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $2.39M
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $2.35M
84.011 MIGRANT EDUCATION STATE GRANT PROGRAM $788,459
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $721,162
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $302,556
84.002 ADULT EDUCATION - BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $287,330
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $173,936
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $121,594
12.U01 ROTC LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TRAINING GRANTS $72,830
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $62,371
93.778 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $56,935
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $41,058
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $24,866
84.365 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STATE GRANTS $23,477
10.559 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN $3,702