Finding Text
Finding 2023-004: Procurement (50000)
Assistance Listing # 10.553, 10.555
Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Pass-through Agency: California Department of Education
Program Title: Child Nutrition Cluster
Criteria: Code of Federal Regulations, CFR 200.320, require the non-Federal entity to have and use documented
procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for the
acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. For “small purchases,” those where
the aggregate dollar amount is higher than the micro-purchase threshold but does not exceed the simplified
acquisition threshold, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources as
determined appropriate by the non-Federal entity.
Condition: During our testing of procurement, we sampled three contracts that would qualify as “small purchases.”
The District could not provide evidence that multiple quotes had been obtained prior to selecting any of the three
vendors.
Cause: Due to high turnover at the District, there has been a lack of oversight to ensure all appropriate
documentation is maintained to demonstrate that the District is in compliance with Public Contract Code and that
purchases are awarded after a reasonable number of quotes have been obtained.
Context: Deficiency was noted in all three contracts tested.
Effect: Contracts were awarded without following proper procurement procedures.
Questioned Cost: This resulted in roughly $86,000 awarded in contracts, without following proper procedures.
Recommendation: We recommend that the District train and implement the required federal procurement
procedures to ensure that the District is in compliance.
Views of Responsible Officials: The District is working to ensure that management staff understand the
requirements of federal procurement for our meal program. The cafeteria program also had a Procurement Review
process with CDE staff about its procurement procedures in the 2022-23 school year. This training provided
valuable information and will help the District with compliance.