Palo Verde Elementary School District No. 49Local Government

Finding Number: 2025‐001 Repeat Finding: No Program Name/Assistance Listing Title: Child Nutrition Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555 Federal Agency: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Federal Award Number: 7AZ300AZ3, 6AZ300400 Pass‐Through Agency: Arizona Department of Education Questioned Costs: N/A Type of Finding: Noncompliance, Significant Deficiency Compliance Requirement: Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Criteria Non‐Federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making sub awards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include those procurement contracts for goods and services awarded under a non‐procurement transaction that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR §180.220. Condition Verification of suspension and debarment was not performed for all vendors with whom the District spent at least $25,000 using federal grant monies. Cause The Business office did not have policies and procedures in place to ensure vendors were not suspended or debarred. Effect The District was not in compliance with the requirements set forth by the federal government. However, it was determined that the vendors in question were not suspended or debarred. Context For the one vendor reviewed with purchases in excess of $25,000, the District did not verify if the vendor was suspended or debarred. The sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample. Recommendation The Business Office should implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal requirements regarding suspension and debarment. Views of Responsible Officials See Corrective Action Plan.