audit_findings: 25

This data as json

rowid	source	report_number	finding_number	muni_id	state	entity_name	entity_type	entity_ext_id	place_geoid	match_method	auditor	report_title	audit_type	fiscal_year	period_start	period_end	published_date	finding_category	severity	questioned_cost	cost_basis	finding_title	finding_text	report_url	fetched_at
25	wa-sao	1021235	2017-001		WA	Elma School District No 68	School District	1887		no_match	Washington State Auditor's Office	Financial and Federal audit — Elma School District No 68	Financial and Federal	2017	2016-09-01	2017-08-31	2018-05-07	federal_award_compliance	material_weakness	0.0	Questioned Cost Amount: $0	The District did not have adequate internal controls in place to ensure compliance with the federal Title I grant requirements for highly qualified paraprofessionals. CFDA Number and Title: 84.010 - Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Federal Grantor Name: U.S. Department of Education Federal Award/Contract Number: NA Pass-through Entity Name: Office of Superintendent of Public Instructio	Description of Condition The federal Title I program’s objective is to improve the teaching and learning of children who are at risk of not meeting state academic standards and who reside in areas with high concentrations of children from low-income families. During fiscal year 2017, the District spent $359,739 in Title I program funds. Federal regulations require recipients of federal money to establish and follow internal controls to ensure compliance with program requirements. These controls include knowledge of grant requirements and monitoring of program controls. To meet the requirements for highly qualified status, all paraprofessionals charged to Title I must have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent. The District is responsible for ensuring all Title I paraprofessionals meet this requirement. The District did not verify and maintain documentation demonstrating a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent was received. The District relied on the attestation of the applicant s without physically verifying appropriate documentation. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ We consider this deficiency in internal controls to be a material weakness. This issue was not reported as a finding in the prior audit. Cause of Condition The District was not aware of the requirement to obtain evidence of a high school diploma or its equivalent to support the federal requirement. Effect of Condition and Questioned Costs Without adequate controls in place, the District cannot ensure costs charged to the grant are allowable. Upon request, the District was able to provide documentation as evidence of a high school diploma for the paraprofessionals selected. Therefore, we are not questioning the paraprofessionals’ salaries charged to the grant. Recommendation We recommend the District establish and follow internal controls to ensure every paraprofessional provides evidence they received a high school diploma or its equivalent. We also recommend the District keep a copy of this evidence in the employee’s file. District ’s Respons e The District concurs with the finding and will add a step in the hiring process to include all needed documents for compliance with Title I requirements. Auditor’s Remarks We thank the District for its cooperation and assistance dur ing the audit and look forward to reviewing the District’s corrective action during our next audit. Applicable Laws and Regulations The American Institute of Certified Public A ccountants defines significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in its Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, section 935, Compliance Audits, paragraph 11. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), section 303 – Internal controls, describes the requirements for auditees to maintain internal controls over federal programs and comply with federal program requirements. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Title 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Guidance, section 516 – Audit findings, establishes reporting requirements for audit findings. Title 34CFR Part 200, Title I – Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged, Subpart A – Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies, section 58 – Qualifications of paraprofessionals, requires all Local Education Agencies (LEA) to ensure that each paraprofessional hired by the LEA who works in a program supported by the funds of the grant must have earned a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________	https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1021235&isFinding=false&sp=false	2026-07-30 13:24:54