Turner County Board of Education

Description: The School District did not meet maintenance of effort requirements associated with the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program. Criteria: 34 CFR 299.5(a) states in part that ?an LEA receiving funds under an applicable program? may receive its full allocation of funds only if the SEA finds that either the combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of State and local funds with respect to the provision of free public education in the LEA for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 percent of the combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year.? In addition, 2 CFR 200.303(a) states in part that 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? (c) Evaluate and monitor the non-Federal entity?s compliance with statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of Federal awards.? Condition: Our review of the maintenance of effort calculation performed by the Georgia Department of Education revealed that the School District did not meet maintenance of effort requirements associated with the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program. The School District was required to meet either the aggregate expenditure maintenance of effort requirement or the average per pupil expenditure maintenance of effort requirement. Neither of these requirements were met, and the following deficiencies were noted: III FEDERAL AWARD FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS ? State and local expenditures totaled $10,800,046.00 in fiscal year 2016. The School District was required to spend at least 90% of this total using State and local funds in fiscal year 2017. However, the School District only expended $9,222,840.00 using State and local funds, which was $497,201.40 less than the required spending level of $9,720,041.40. ? Based upon a 2016 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment total of 1,315, the School District should have expended $7,391.67 per student using State and local funds in fiscal year 2017. However, the School District only expended $7,285.02 per student using State and local funds, which was $106.65 less per student than the required spending level based upon a 2017 FTE enrollment total of 1,266. Cause: Under previous administration, cuts were made across the system, in part to address low fund balance which resulted in lower non-federal expenditures that in turn affected our Maintenance of Effort. Effect or Potential Effect: Due to the amendments made to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by Every Student Succeeds Act, no reduction in the allocation of Federal funds is required for the fiscal year under review. However, failure to ensure that maintenance of effort requirements are met going forward may lead to a reduction in funding for the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program in future years and could result in unnecessary financial strains and shortages within the Title I program fund. Additionally, the School District is not in compliance with Federal regulations specific to the Title I program. Recommendation: The School District should strengthen procedures to ensure that the proper amount of State and local funds are expended each year to meet maintenance of effort requirements associated with the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program. Furthermore, management should develop and implement a monitoring process to ensure that controls are operating appropriately. Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with this finding.

The School District did not meet maintenance of effort requirements associated with the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program. Corrective Action Plans: The Turner County School System's Chief Financial Officer will monitor expenditures on a semi-annual basis to ensure Maintenance of Effort is met. The CFO will also work more closely with the Title I Program Director toward the same effort. Estimated Completion Date: May, 2021. Contact Person: Elizabeth Walker Telephone: 229567-4849; E-mail: liz.walker@turner.k12.ga.us