Finding Text
Finding: The District did not always comply with Federal regulations by properly allocating Title I Program funds to eligible schools. Criteria: Title 34, Section 200.78, Code of Federal Regulations, requires the District to allocate Title I schoolwide program funds to schools identified as eligible and selected to participate, in rank order, on the basis of the total number of children from low-income families in each school. The District is not required to allocate the same per-pupil amount (PPA) to each participating school provided that it allocates higher PPAs to schools with higher concentrations of poverty than to schools with lower concentrations of poverty. Condition: The District annually applies for Title I Program funding and the application includes a budget and an eligibility survey to document the amounts budgeted per participating school. During the 2021-22 fiscal year, the District expended $947,301 from the Title I Program, including $831,456 expended for the District?s six elementary, middle, and high schools. As part of our audit, we requested for examination District records supporting the District?s budget allocation amounts to the six schools and final budget amounts that evidenced the allocations were provided. However, District records indicated that the ranking of three of the District?s six Title I schools did not agree with the ranking based on the total number of students from low-income families. Specifically, District schools with a poverty concentration of 99.20 percent, 90.66 percent, and 84.39 percent were allocated and received $15,032, $18,467 and $4,556, respectively, less than a school with a lower poverty concentration of 77.74 percent. Cause: The District had not established effective procedures for monitoring Title I budgets at participating schools. Effect: The District did not comply with Federal regulations by appropriately allocating Title I Program resources to participating schools in rank order, on the basis of the total number of children from low-income families in each school. As a result, three schools were underallocated $38,055 and educational services were not funded at the required levels. In response to our inquiries, District personnel concurred with the calculated questioned costs. Recommendation: The District should establish procedures for ensuring and documenting that Title I Program resources are properly allocated to schools. In addition, the District should provide documentation to the FDOE supporting the allowability of the questioned costs totaling $38,055 or allocate that amount to the applicable underfunded Title I schools. District Response: The District Federal Programs Coordinator will: 1. Attend professional development activities provided by our Federal Programs Consultant, Dr. Cheryl Sattler with Ethica, LLC. These activities include monthly technical calls, annual Title 1 Bootcamp, and Spring Coordinators? Workshop. 2. Seek help and advice from Dr. Sattler as needed. 3. Attend FASFEPA Conferences, twice per year, to learn about updates and changes to federal laws regarding Title 1 funds. 4. Review the budget entered into the district?s accounting system to ensure there are no discrepancies.