Finding Text
Criteria or Specific Requirement
Eligibility - When determining eligibility, a LEA must select a poverty measure from among the following data sources: (1) the number of children ages 5–17 in poverty counted in the most recent census; (2) the number of children eligible for free and reduced price lunches; (3) the number of children in families receiving TANF; (4) the number of children eligible to receive Medicaid assistance; or (5) a composite of these data sources. The District selected the number of children eligible for free and reduced price lunches as the poverty measure. The District’s system of internal control must include review and retention of the documentation supporting the counts of children eligible for free and reduced lunches for all attendance areas reported in the grant application.
The District may use the district-wide poverty average or the poverty average for the respective grade-span grouping. A LEA may serve, for one additional year, an attendance area that is not currently eligible but was eligible and served in the preceding year. The District’s system of internal control should include the review of the information reported to assure the accuracy and compliance with the program requirements
Additionally, a school at or above 40 percent poverty or a school that receives a waiver from the SEA may use its Part A funds, along with other federal, state, and local funds, to operate a schoolwide program to upgrade the
instructional program in the whole school.
Condition
The number of children eligible for free and reduced priced meals reported for four attendance areas in the grant application did not match to the counts recorded in the District’s student information management system, which maintains the data for children eligible for free and reduced priced meals. Reliable data from the information management system was either not used or was used but the record of the data was not maintained as support for the numbers included on the grant application. The information included on the grant application was not reviewed by another knowledgeable individual prior to submission.
The District’s internal control system is lacking a review process of the grant application information resulting in an incorrect determination of poverty rate of the attendance areas.
Cause
The District does not have an established review process for verifying the accuracy of information reported in the grant application and has not retained the supporting documentation to substantiate the reported data.
Effect or Potential Effect
The District’s eligibility calculation was inconsistent with the supporting documentation from free and reduced lunch applications resulting in an incorrect determination of poverty rate in an attendance area.
Questioned Costs
None.
Context
The District’s low income student counts reported for five of its six attendance areas and one of its six attendance areas did not agree to the supporting information contained in the District’s student management system for the dates reported on the 2023 – 2024 and 2022 – 2023 grant applications, respectively. The counts reported for two of the attendance areas incorrectly resulted in poverty rate greater than 40% in the 2023 – 2024 grant application and one of the attendance areas incorrectly resulted in poverty rate greater than 40% in the 2022 – 2023 grant application.
Identification of Repeat Finding
This is not a repeat finding.
Recommendation
The District should obtain and retain student count information from the District’s student management system for the Title I grant application. Furthermore, once the grant application is completed, it should be reviewed by another knowledgeable individual.
Views of Responsible Officials
Fremont Count School District #1 will review and retain supporting documentation for the numbers of free and reduced lunch applicants in determining eligibility for the Title I grant.
See Corrective Action Plan