audit_findings: 43
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| 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 |
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| 43 | wa-sao | 1021376 | 2017-001 | WA | Mead School District No 354 | School District | 2045 | no_match | Washington State Auditor's Office | Financial and Federal audit — Mead School District No 354 | Financial and Federal | 2017 | 2016-09-01 | 2017-08-31 | 2018-05-21 | federal_award_compliance | material_weakness | 57382.0 | Questioned Cost Amount: $57,382 | The District did not have adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with the federal Title I grant requirements for qualifications of paraprofessionals. CFDA Number and Title: 84.010 – Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies Federal Grantor Name: U.S. Department of Education Federal Award/Contract Number: NA Pass-through Entity Name: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Pass-thr | Background The 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 $953,732 in Title I program funds. Federal regulations require federal money recipients to establish and follow internal controls to ensure compliance with program requirements. These controls include knowledge of grant requirements and monitoring of program controls. All paraprofessionals funded by Title I must have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent and meet one of the following requirements: Have completed at least two years of study at an institution of higher education Have obtained an associate’s or higher college degree Have met a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal state or local academic assessment, knowledge of and the ability to Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ assist in instructing, reading, writing and mathematics, or reading readiness, writing readiness and mathematics readiness. The District is responsible for ensuring all paraprofessionals it charges to the Title I program have met the qualification requirements. The District must maintain documentation to support the paraprofess ionals’ qualifications at the school-building or District level. Description of Condition We reviewed the District’s internal controls over the qualifications of paraprofessionals requirement to determine whether paraprofessionals charged to the Title I grant were qualified. Our audit found that the District ’s procedures did not include verifying and maintaining documentation demonstrating the paraprofessionals met all the requirements. 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 did not have a process in place to obtain evidence of a high school diploma or its equivalent from its paraprofessionals when hired. Instead, the District relied on its understanding that most colleges require a high school diploma for a student to be accepted for enrollment, for those paraprofessionals who did not take the assessments required for qualification. Effect of Condition and Questioned Costs Without adequate controls in place, the District cannot demonstrate that costs charged to the grant were allowable. Further, without documentation showing that a paraprofessional had a high school diploma or its equivalent, the District cannot demonstrate Title I students were instructed by a qualified paraprofessional. Our audit found the District did not have evidence of a high school diploma or its equivalent on file for 10 of 14 paraprofessionals it charged to the Title I program. During the audit, the District was able to obtain high school diplomas or equivalent for only six of the 10 paraprofessionals we tested. We are questioning the $57,382 in salaries and benefits the District charged to its Title I program for the remaining four paraprofessionals the District could not demonstrate were qualified. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Recommendation s We recommend the District strengthen its internal controls by verifying and maintaining supporting documentation to demonstrate all paraprofessionals meet the qualification requirements. District ’s Response The District did not have a sufficient process in place to obtain physical proof of a high school diploma upon hire. Instead, the District relied on its understanding that most colleges require a high school diploma for a student to be accepted for enrollment as well as the listing of the high school completion on the employment application which is certified as true and factual by the employee’s signature on that application. In order to resolve this issue, there has been an audit comp leted of all para educator employment files to identify individuals whose file does not contain supporting documentation to sufficiently prove the requirements have been met by the employee. These employees with deficiencies noted in their file are now be ing given the opportunity to provide a copy of their high school diploma, or a copy of high school transcript showing graduation date, or a copy of their GED or a college transcript listing the high school or GED with date completed/issued. In addition, h iring processes have been updated to require this documentation in order for an applicant's file to be considered complete and passed on for further consideration of employment with the district. Auditor’s Remarks We thank District management and staff for their assistance during the audit. We will follow up on the status of the issue during our next scheduled 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 Guida nce), section 516 Audit findings, establishes r eporting requirements for audit findings. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Title 2 CFR Part 200, 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 34 CFR Part 200, Title I – Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged, section 58 – Qualifications of paraprofessionals, establishes requirements of paraprofessionals to work in Title I programs. Washington State Auditor's Office ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1021376&isFinding=false&sp=false | 2026-07-30 13:24:54 |