Finding Text
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PASSED THROUGH ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
CHILD NUTRITION CLUSTER - AL NUMBERS 10.553 and 10.555
PASS-THROUGH NUMBER 0104
AUDIT PERIOD - YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
2023-001. Reporting
Criteria or specific requirement: Monthly claims for reimbursement are required to be submitted to the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Child Nutrition Unit (DESE, CNU), as required by 7 CFR 210.8 and 7 CFR 220.11. Reimbursement claim components include the total number of free, reduced price, and paid meals served. The total meals served by category are to be derived from the District's point of sale system.
Condition: An Administrative Review for Stuttgart School District was completed by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Child Nutrition Unit (DESE, CNU) in April 2023. The review noted the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) claiming percentages were not applied to meals served at Park Avenue Elementary and Meekins Middle School for breakfast or lunch. All meals at these two sites were claimed as free meals. The claim for reimbursement in March 2023, had not been fully processed. The claim was deleted, and the district applied the correct CEP percentages for March 2023. Upon further investigation, it was found that the District had not implemented the CEP claiming percentages for the entire 2022-2023 school year through February 2023. The District immediately took corrective action and remitted the overpayment of funds totaling $125,122.
Cause: Lack of management oversight and inaccurate reporting of meals served resulted in the District not applying the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) claiming percentages for breakfast or lunch.
Effect or potential effect: The District was not properly reimbursed for meals served during the year.
Questioned costs: The amount of questioned costs totaled $125,122 (AL #10.553 Breakfast $35,795 and AL #10.555 Lunch $89,327.
Context: Results of an Administrative Review by the DESE, CNU.
Identification as a repeat finding: No
Recommendation: The District should exercise greater care in the preparation of monthly claims for reimbursement.
Views of responsible officials: Child Nutrition Director, claim approver and Superintendent have been made aware of the percentage claim requirement and will review all monthly claims going forward to ensure the correct allowable percentage is claimed for all campuses designation as CEP. A spreadsheet with formulas has been created to verify the monthly claim includes the correct percentage calculations. The data is reviewed by both the Child Nutrition Director and the Comptroller prior to submitting the official monthly claim to the Child Nutrition Unit.
In addition, incorrect claims for the 2023 fiscal year were modified and corrected monthly forms were submitted to the Child Nutrition Unit before fiscal year 2023 end. Excess reimbursement amounts were also repaid to the Child Nutrition department during the same year.