New Palestine Community SchoolsLocal Government

FINDING 2024-001 Subject: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund - Equipment and Real Property Management Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.425C, 84.425D, 84.425U Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425C200018, S425D210013, S425U210013, 7000S425U210013, 3115 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Equipment and Real Property Management Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Other Matters Condition and Context A property record or capital asset listing would include the following for each asset: a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the federal award identification number (FAIN)), who holds title, the acquisition date, cost of the property, percentage of federal participation in the project costs for the federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property, and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sales price of the property. The property record or capital asset listing should be maintained for assets purchased that exceed the School Corporation's capitalization threshold. The School Corporation maintained a detailed listing of capital assets; however, the capital asset listing provided did not identify which assets were purchased with federal dollars, the FAIN, or the percentage of federal participation in the project costs for the federal award under which the property was acquired. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.313(d) states in part: ". . . (1) Property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the FAIN), who holds title, the acquisition date, and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property, and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sale price of the property. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 16 NEW PALESTINE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) (2) A physical inventory of the property must be taken and the results reconciled with the property records at least once every two years. (3) A control system must be developed to ensure adequate safeguards to prevent loss, damage, or theft of the property. Any loss, damage, or theft must be investigated. (4) Adequate maintenance procedures must be developed to keep the property in good condition. . . ." Cause Management was not aware of the property record requirements for equipment and real property purchased with federal awards. Effect The School Corporation may not recall all equipment and real property purchased with federal awards, and, therefore, not use it for its designated purpose or follow disposal requirements for equipment and real property purchased with federal awards. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that the School Corporation's management establish internal controls to ensure compliance and comply with the grant agreement and the Equipment and Real Property Management compliance requirement. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.

FINDING 2024-002 Subject: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund - Reporting Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listings Numbers: 84.425C, 84.425D, 84.425U Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425C200018, S425D210013, S425U210013, 7000S425U210013, 3115 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Reporting Audit Finding: Material Weakness Condition and Context An effective internal control system was not designed, nor implemented, at the School Corporation to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Reporting compliance requirements. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 17 NEW PALESTINE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) The School Corporation had not designed, nor implemented, a system of internal controls to ensure the annual Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) annual Data Collection reports (Reports) were complete and accurately submitted. The School Corporation Reports were prepared by the Deputy Treasurer and the Grant Administrator, then were reviewed and approved by the Business Manager; however, there was no documentation provided to verify that the oversight or review process to prevent, or detect and correct, errors was performed during the audit period. This resulted in errors on the ESSER I Year 3 report that was originally submitted in April 2023 not being detected and corrected until July 2024. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." Cause There was no documentation that a system of internal controls had been designed and implemented by management of the School Corporation to ensure compliance with the federal award and the Reporting compliance requirement. As a result, a report was originally submitted that contained incorrect information and was not discovered and corrected for 15 months. Effect Without an effective system of internal controls, noncompliance with the federal award and the Reporting compliance requirement occurred for one of the reports submitted by the School Corporation. Users of the Report rely upon its accuracy to make appropriate decisions. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that the School Corporation's management establish a system of internal controls related to the federal award and the Reporting compliance requirement which includes documentation of the operation of internal controls. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.

GSA_MIGRATION