Finding Text
2023-001 Eligibility for Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund
Federal program: ALN 84.367 Teacher and Principal Training and
Recruiting Fund
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education
Pass-through entity: Colorado Department of Education
Criteria: An LEA applies to the SEA for program funding and the amount of the LEA’s allocation that the SEA provides is based on the poverty measure that is reported to the SEA. In this case the District used free and reduced lunch counts to as the poverty measure to report to the SEA.
Condition: While we believe the District accurately reported the poverty measure to the SEA, the District was unable to timely provide supporting schedules that tied back to the data reported to the SEA.
Questioned costs: None noted.
Context: While performing testing over eligibility it was determined that the reports that were generated by the District’s food service software did not agree to the applications that were filled out, the data that was entered into the software, or the data provided to the state.
Effect: We were not able to reconcile the data that was provided from the food service software to the applications that had been submitted.
Cause: Controls to ensure that reported eligibility data agreed to the food service software reporting were not in place.
Recommendation: Management should implement procedures that include the verification and reconciliation of eligibility data at the time of reporting to the SEA and maintain the reports that are produced at that time.
Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management agrees with this finding and is working on implementing a verification and reconciliation process and will ensure that future reports are maintained at the time of reporting.