audit_findings: 38

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
38	wa-sao	1021321	2017-002		WA	Aberdeen School District No 5	School District	1882		no_match	Washington State Auditor's Office	Financial and Federal audit — Aberdeen School District No 5	Financial and Federal	2017	2016-09-01	2017-08-31	2018-05-17	federal_award_compliance	material_weakness	0.0	Questioned Cost Amount: $0	The District did not have adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with the federal Title I grant requirements for the annual report card, high school graduation rate. CFDA Number and Title: 84.010 – Title 1 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 Ed	Background The objective of the Title I program 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 $1,246,878 in Title I program funds. Districts must report graduation rate data for all public high schools to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) annually. This is done by submitting a Graduation Rate Report that indicates the student’s enrollment status as graduated, transferred out, dropped out, migrated to another country or deceased. The district must retain adequate support for how it classifies a student’s enrollment status. To confirm a student transferred out, the district must have official written documentation that the student enrolled in another school or in an educational program that culminates in the award of a regular high school diploma. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Description of Condition Our audit examined the District’s documentation for students it classified as “transferred out.” The District’s controls were not adequate to ensure it gathered the required documents to support its classification of students that left the District. Specifically, the District did not obtain annual I ntent to Provide Home-Based Education forms (homeschool forms) for each student who left the District to be homeschooled. It also did not obtain written documentation confirming students who transferred to another district actually enrolled in the new district. Without these documents, the District cannot report the students as a confirmed transfer. We consider these control deficiencies to be material weaknesses. This issue was not reported as a finding in the prior audit. Cause of Condition District staff were not aware of the documentation necessary to demonstrate students as confirmed transfers. Effect of Condition and Questioned Costs Out of nine transfers reviewed, four did not have proper documentation maintained. By not maintaining proper documentation, the District cannot ensure it has provided accurate reports to OSPI. Further, the District is at risk of incorrectly calculating graduation rates. There are no questioned costs associated with this compliance requirement. Recommendation s We recommend the District establish controls to obtain and k eep documentation confirming students that transfer out of the District are properly classified, including current homeschool forms and written notification confirming the student enrolled at the new District. District’s Response The Aberdeen School District enrolls home schooled students who wish to register to take Running Start classes. In the past an Intent to Home School form was not required at the time of registration. The Aberdeen School District is changing that process and will now require any student who presents as a home school student to complete an Intent to Home School form with the enrollment packet. To ensure continuous enrollment and academic progress in a course of study. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Auditor’s Remarks We thank the District for its c ooperation throughout the audit and the steps it is taking to address these concerns. We will review the status of 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. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guida nce), section 516 Audit findings, establishes r eporting requirements for audit findings. Title 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Guidance, Section 34 – High School Graduation Rates, discusses requirements for reporting cohort graduation rates and changes in how changes in student status are classified. Title 34 CFR Part 200, Subpart A – Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies, Section 200.19 – Other academic indicators – establishes the requirement for Districts to have official written documentation to confirm a student transferred out. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ IND EPENDENT AUDITOR’S R EPORT ON INTERNAL CO NTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPOR TING AND ON COMPLIAN CE AND OTHER MATTERS BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINAN CIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS Aberdeen School District No. 5 Grays Harbor County September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017 Board of Directors Aberdeen School District No. 5 Aberdeen, Washington We have audited, in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, t he financial statements of Aberdeen School District No. 5, Grays Harbor County, Washington, as of and for the year ended August 31, 2017, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the District’s financial statements, and have issued our report thereon dated May 16, 2018. We issued an unmodified opinion on the fair presentation of the District’s financial statements in accordance with its regulatory basis of accounting. We issued an adverse opinion on the fair presentation with regard to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) because , as described in Note 1, the Accounting Manual for Public School Districts in the State of Washington does not require the District to prepare the government-wide statements presenting the financial position and changes in financial position of its governmental activities as required by GAAP. The effects on the financial statements of the variances between the basis of accounting described in Note 1 and accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, although not reasonably determinable, are presumed to be material. INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements, we considered the District’s internal control over financial reporting (internal control) to determine the audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the District’s Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ internal control. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the District’s internal control. A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in i nternal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the District's financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance. Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpos e described in the first paragraph of this section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies. Given these limitations, during our audit we did not identify any defic iencies in internal control that we consider to be material weaknesses. However, material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified. COMPLIANCE AND OTHER MATTERS As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the District’s financial statements are free from material misstatement, we performed tests of the District’s compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the determinatio n of financial statement amounts. However, providing an opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the District’s internal control or on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the District’s internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose. However, Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ this report is a matter of public record and its distribution is not limited. It also serves to disseminate information to the public as a reporting tool to h elp citizens assess government operations. Pat McCarthy State Auditor Olympia, WA May 16, 2018 Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________	https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1021321&isFinding=false&sp=false	2026-07-30 13:24:54