Martins Ferry City School DistrictLocal Government

Finding Number: 2025-003 Federal Program: Title I Federal Award Identification Number and Year: 2025 Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 84.010A Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-through Entity: Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Repeat Finding: No Material Weakness/Material Noncompliance – Payroll Expenses Criteria: Uniform Guidance §200.430(i)(1) requires that charges to federal awards for salaries and wages be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed and be supported by a system of internal controls providing reasonable assurance that charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated. Additionally, Title I, Part A funds may only be used for allowable costs that directly support eligible Title I activities in accordance with the approved application and applicable cost principles under 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E.Finding Number: 2025-003 (Continued) Material Weakness/Material Noncompliance – Payroll Expenses (Continued) Condition/Context: During testing of payroll expenditures, we noted the following issues: • Unallowable disbursements were made for athletic supplemental salaries for two employees, resulting in questioned costs of $20,751. • One employee was paid for committee meetings at an incorrect pay rate, resulting in questioned costs of $45. • One employee was paid at the incorrect pay rate due to being placed on the incorrect salary step schedule, resulting in questioned costs of $6,583. • One employee whose salary was approved to be allocated between Title I and the General fund, however the actual allocation did not match the approved allocation. This issue resulted in questioned costs of $1,699. Questioned Costs: In our testing we identified total known questioned costs of $29,078 and projected questioned costs of $105,870. Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed: Questions costs were computed by comparing the actual recorded value to the calculated audit value and identifying the known questioned costs. The known costs were used to calculate the percentage of the total recorded amounts impacted in testing and applied to the remaining untested population to identify the projected questioned costs. Effect: Payments of salaries resulted in identified questioned costs that were improperly charged to federal funds. The School District’s internal controls related to the review and approval of the respective expenditures failed to prevent or detect the payments being improperly charged. Recommendation: We recommend the School District implement procedures to ensure expenditures are for allowable purposes prior to disbursement. Management should implement steps for review and approval of all grant related disbursements. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: See Corrective Action Plan.