Finding 366545 (2022-001)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2024-02-08

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The District did not obtain certified payroll information from Panzica Construction in a timely manner, leading to non-compliance with federal regulations.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act and 2 CFR part 200, including the need for weekly certified payroll reports and reporting violations to the Federal awarding agency.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement formal controls to ensure weekly certified payroll reports are obtained and establish a process for reporting any compliance issues to the Federal awarding agency.

Finding Text

2 CFR § 3474.1 provides that the Department of Education (DOE) adopts the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance in 2 CFR part 200. Thus, this section gives regulatory effect to the OMB guidance and supplements the guidance as needed for the DOE, except as otherwise noted in that section. Appendix II to 2 CFR part 200, Paragraph D states that all contracts made by the non-Federal entity under the Federal award must contain provisions covering the following: (D) Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 3141-3148). When required by Federal program legislation, all prime construction contracts in excess of $2,000 awarded by non-Federal entities must include a provision for compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3141-3144, and 3146-3148) as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 5, “Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts Covering Federally Financed and Assisted Construction”). In accordance with the statute, contractors must be required to pay wages to laborers and mechanics at a rate not less than the prevailing wages specified in a wage determination made by the Secretary of Labor. In addition, contractors must be required to pay wages not less than once a week. The non-Federal entity must place a copy of the current prevailing wage determination issued by the Department of Labor in each solicitation. The decision to award a contract or subcontract must be conditioned upon the acceptance of the wage determination. The non-Federal entity must report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency. . . The District entered into a contract with Panzica Construction Company for installation of kitchen equipment for East Tech Culinary Art Renovation project, in the amount of $783,659. During fiscal year 2022, the District paid Panzica $58,207 with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) Fund monies related to this project. These expenditures included contractor payroll charges for periods prior to June 30, 2022. However, due to the lack of formal controls and procedures, the District did not obtain the certified payroll information until December 12, 2022.This weakness resulted in the District being non-compliant with the aforementioned federal codes and could result in future reductions or loss of federal funding.The District should ensure certified payroll reports are provided weekly by the contractor. The District should obtain the necessary information from the contractor to document compliance with the program requirements and if the contractor failed to comply then they have an obligation under Appendix II to 2 CFR part 200 to report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency.

Corrective Action Plan

The District acknowledges it did not obtain certified payroll information from Panzica Construction until December 2022 which was after the Auditor raised the issue with the District. The District will work to ensure compliance with grant terms, in this instance, by assigning compliance responsibility to the Cost Center Manager who negotiates, monitors, and receives invoices, and authorizes payments. Standard prevailing wage contract language will be developed in consultation with General Counsel’s Office with the language inserted into future contracts, as appropriate.

Categories

Equipment & Real Property Management Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Special Tests & Provisions

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 942987 2022-001
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $42.17M
10.555 National School Lunch Program $14.77M
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $13.54M
32.009 Emergency Connectivity Fund Program $9.35M
10.553 School Breakfast Program $5.18M
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $3.63M
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $2.81M
10.555 Covid-19 National School Lunch Program $2.52M
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $2.00M
84.377 School Improvement Grants $1.14M
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $607,579
93.079 Cooperative Agreements to Promote Adolescent Health Through School-Based Hiv/std Prevention and School-Based Surveillance $529,137
10.559 Summer Food Service Program for Children $371,719
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $367,043
84.196 Education for Homeless Children and Youth $346,054
12.000 Junior Rotc-2022 $294,743
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $183,575
93.566 Refugee and Entrant Assistance_state Administered Programs $141,584
84.371 Striving Readers $133,067
84.305 Education Research, Development and Dissemination $7,916
10.649 Covid-19 State Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Administrative Grants $5,554