Summary

Summary of Examination Report

Because of the instances of material noncompliance discussed below involving instructional hours, the daily instructional schedule, student attendance records, the reporting of, and documentation for, enrolled students, and the qualifications of teachers, the North American Family Institute, Inc. (NAFI) did not comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) regarding the determination and reporting of full-time equivalent (FTE) students for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2001 and 2002.

Our examination procedures disclosed the following instances of material noncompliance: the number of instructional hours provided in the daily instructional schedules was not adequately documented; student attendance was not taken on a daily basis; student attendance records and procedures for taking and recording student attendance were deficient; and the qualifications of most of the teaching staff did not meet FEFP requirements.

North American Family Institute (NAFI)

The North American Family Institute, Inc. (NAFI) is a not-for-profit corporation of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts registered to do business in the State of Florida. NAFI was contracted by the District to provide alternative educational programs and related training to students who had been committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 school years. NAFI operated two primary programs: a residential program called the Intensive Halfway House (IHH) and a residential treatment program called the Serious and Habitual Offender Program (SHOP). The District did not renew its contract with NAFI after the 2001-02 school year.

For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2001 and 2002, NAFI reported 52.3464 and 53.4356, unweighted, full-time equivalent (FTE) students, respectively, through the School District of Walton County.

Florida Education Finance Program

Florida school districts receive State funding through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), which was established by the Florida Legislature in 1973.

It is the intent of the law "to guarantee to each student in the Florida public school system the availability of programs and services appropriate to his educational needs which are substantially equal to those available to any similar student notwithstanding geographic differences and varying local economic factors."

To provide equalization of educational opportunity in Florida, the FEFP formula recognizes (1) varying local property tax bases, (2) varying program cost factors, (3) district cost differentials, and (4) differences in per student cost for equivalent educational programs due to sparsity and dispersion of student population.

The funding provided by FEFP is based upon the numbers of individual students participating in particular educational programs. A numerical value is assigned to each student according to the student's hours and days of attendance in those programs. The individual student thus becomes equated to a numerical value known as an unweighted FTE (full-time equivalent student). For example, one student would be reported as one FTE if the student was enrolled in six classes per day at 50 minutes per class for the full 180-day school year (i.e., six classes at 50 minutes each per day is five hours of class a day or 25 hours per week, which equals one FTE).

The Program Director's written response to the audit findings and recommendations included in audit report No. 03-183 is presented as a part of this report.