Summary

Summary of Report on Financial Statements

The Alachua County District School Board prepared its basic financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, in accordance with prescribed financial reporting standards. 

Summary of Report on Internal Control and Compliance

The District has established and implemented procedures that generally provide for internal control of District operations.  The District generally complied with significant provisions of laws, administrative rules, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.  However, we did note internal control and compliance findings that are summarized below.

Summary of Audit Findings

Finding No. 1:  Board Meetings and Minutes

District procedures did not ensure that minutes for informal meetings were recorded and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Board.  Additionally, although typed minutes were recorded for 15 workshops and two Superintendent’s Wellness Committee meetings, the minutes were not reviewed and approved by the Board.

Finding No. 2:  Personnel Administration

District procedures did not provide for the timely verification of the accuracy of pay-rate calculations and other information that were entered into the personnel system by an employee other than the one who input the information.  Absent such a procedure, the District had limited assurance that all personnel data entered was accurate and that all changes were authorized. 

Finding No. 3:  Background Screening

The District did not implement procedures recommended by the Florida Department of Education for timely obtaining fingerprints and performing background screenings required by law for instructional and noninstructional employees who have direct contact with students.

Finding No. 4:  Employee Exit Interviews

The District did not document that exit interviews were conducted for employees terminating employment.  Exit interviews are necessary to help ensure recovery of District property assigned to employees and that access to the District’s information technology resources is terminated.

Finding No. 5:  Day-Labor Project Inspections

The District did not have a formal process to evidence the review of project documents for compliance with the Uniform Building Code and the final inspection of projects upon completion.

Finding No. 6:  Annual Facility Safety Inspections

District procedures did not ensure that facility deficiencies noted on the annual comprehensive safety inspection reports were timely corrected.

Finding No. 7:  Maintenance of Tangible Personal Property Records

Some reports produced by the District’s tangible personal property system contained errors because software updates were not functioning properly.  Additionally, tangible personal property records did not include certain information on the disposal of property items.

Finding No. 8:  Tangible Personal Property Inventories

The District did not have adequate procedures to ensure inventories of tangible personal property were taken upon change of property custodian, contrary to School Board Rules.  In the absence of a complete physical inventory upon change of custodian, the District may be limited in its ability to fix responsibility for the loss of property items.

Finding No. 9:  Federal Privacy Regulations

The Board had not established policies or procedures to ensure compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, nor had the District identified all records to which these Federal regulations apply. 

Finding No. 10:  Charter School Monitoring

Improvement was needed in the District’s procedures for monitoring and reviewing insurance for its charter schools.  The District did not receive evidence of renewal for any of the charter schools at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the insurance policy.  Additionally, in 11 instances, the minimum insurance amounts retained by the charter schools did not meet the minimum requirements required in the charters.

Finding No. 11:  Information Technology - Steering Committee

The District had not established an Information Technology (IT) steering committee that would provide for top management involvement in the IT function, facilitate coordination and integration among departments and functions with respect to IT activities, and provide more effective management control over the allocation of resources in a manner that best reflects organizational goals.

Finding No. 12:  Information Technology – Security Administration

The District did not ensure employees within its Information Resources Department had undergone criminal history background and fingerprint record checks prior to being given access to information technology resources and electronic data within this department.

Finding No. 13:  Grants Administration

The District’s Improving Teacher Quality State Grants project application for the 2005-06 award year was received by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) on July 1, 2005; however, because of missing information and the lack of timely follow-up and resolution of the missing information by the District, the project application was not approved by FDOE until June 9, 2006.  In the absence of an approved application, the District was not able to file for cost reimbursements using the FDOE on-line reporting system, temporarily necessitating the use of other program funds.

Summary of Report on Federal Awards

We audited the District’s Federal awards for compliance with applicable Federal requirements.  The Child Nutrition Cluster, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, and Head Start programs were audited as major Federal programs.  The results of our audit indicated that the District materially complied with the requirements that were applicable to the major Federal programs tested.  However, we did note compliance and internal control findings that are summarized below.

Federal Awards Finding No. 1:  Cash Management

The District drew down cash advances from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in excess of amounts necessary to satisfy immediate cash needs for grants funded through FDOE.

Federal Awards Finding No. 2:  Allowable Costs/Cost Principles – Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Program

Semi-annual certifications were not available for employees working solely on the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program, and personnel activity reports were not available for employees who worked on this and other programs.  Such certifications are required to document salaries and wages charged to the program.

Federal Awards Finding No. 3:  Allowable Costs/Cost Principles – Head Start

Semi-annual certifications were not available for employees working solely on the Head Start program, and monthly personnel activity reports were not available for employees who worked on this and other programs.  Such certifications are required to document salaries and wages charged to the program.

Audit Objectives and Scope

Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Alachua County District School Board and its officers with administrative and stewardship responsibilities for District operations had:

• Presented the District’s basic financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

• Established and implemented internal control over financial reporting and compliance with requirements that could have a direct and material effect on the financial statements or on a major Federal program;

• Established management controls that promote and encourage:  1) compliance with applicable laws, administrative rules, and other guidelines; 2) the economic, effective, and efficient operation of the District; 3) the reliability of records and reports; and 4) the safeguarding of District assets;

• Complied with the various provisions of law, administrative rules, regulations, and contracts and grant agreements that are material to the financial statements, and those applicable to the District’s major Federal programs; and

• Corrected, or are in the process of correcting, all deficiencies disclosed in prior audit reports.

The scope of this audit included an examination of the District’s basic financial statements and the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006.  We obtained an understanding of internal control and assessed control risk necessary to plan the audit of the basic financial statements and Federal awards.  We also examined various transactions to determine whether they were executed, both in manner and substance, in accordance with governing provisions of laws, administrative rules, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.

Audit Methodology

The methodology used to develop the findings in this report included the examination of pertinent District records in connection with the application of procedures required by auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, applicable standards contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133.