Finding Text
CONDITION: During my review of the District’s compliance with the laws and regulations related to filing its federal grant program Final Expenditure Reports (FER), I noted that the School District did not file the Final Expenditure Report for the ESSER II grant program until February 9, 2024. The report was required to be filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) no later than 90 days after the end date of the grant period (September 30, 2023), or within 30 days of expending all grant funding. CRITERIA: The Department of Education requires the completion and submission of a ‘Final Expenditure Report’ (FER) within 30 days of expending all grant funding. In addition, Section 2 CFR 200.344 of the Uniform Guidance requires the submission of financial reports no later than 90 calendar days after the end date of the grant period for performance. EFFECT: The District is not in compliance with the financial reporting requirements for timely submission of a ‘final expenditure report’ (FER) for its ESSER II grant program in accordance with PDE policy and Section 2 CFR 200.344 of the Uniform Guidance. QUESTIONED COST: None CAUSE: It was not readily determinable as to why the School District had not completed and filed the ‘Final Expenditure Report’ with PDE in a timely manner. RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the District develop fiscal procedures to ensure that ‘Final Expenditure Reports’ for future fiscal years are completed and filed in a timely manner based on supporting financial information obtained from the District’s business office, in order to 1) comply with PDE reporting requirements for the District’s applicable federal programs, and 2) to avoid any future sanctions or withholding of grant monies from PDE as a result of not filing these reports in a timely manner. VIEWS OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS: The School District concurs with the above noted finding and addresses this issue in the ‘Corrective Action Plan’ included within this report.