Finding Text
Finding 2024-015: Material Weakness in Internal Control and Material Noncompliance – Reporting Assistance Listing Program Title and Number: Education Stabilization Fund- Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (84.425D), American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (84.425U) Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-through Entity: State of Connecticut Department of Education Award year: 2023 – 2024 Criteria or specific requirement: ESSER, GEER, and EANS grantees must submit an annual performance report with data on expenditures, planned expenditures, subrecipients, and uses of funds, including for mandatory reservations. LEAs/subrecipients submit data to the SEA/Governor for the SEA’s/Governor’s report. Condition: The City provided supporting documentation that was unable to be agreed to the amounts that were submitted to the State in the annual performance report ESF - ESSER Recipient Data Collection Form OMB PRA Number: OMB No. 1810-0749 for the key line items: Line 3.b1 LEA expenditures by ESSER Subgrant fund, expenditure category, and object code, Line 3.b10 Number of specific positions supported with ESSER Funds, 3. Line 3.c Allocation of ESSER funds to schools and criteria used to allocate funds to schools, and Line 5.a Full Time Equivalent positions. Cause: There was a change in personnel during the year at both the CFO level and Grants Coordinator level. The previous Grants Coordinator was responsible for compiling the information to be submitted to the State and the CFO reviewed the information prior to its submission. Because of the change in personnel, the City was not able to locate the Grant Coordinator’s supporting documentation for the information contained in the report, nor were they able to provide evidence of a review occurring prior to the reports submission. Effect: The report could contain incomplete or inaccurate information. Context: One annual report was required to be submitted. Our testing of that one report determined the condition noted above. Questioned Cost: None Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend the City implement controls to ensure appropriate document retention and recordkeeping of reports submitted for compliance purposes and ensure there is evidence of a review occurring by someone other than the individual who prepared the report. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.