Michigan’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Michigan (Michigan) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and other applicable Federal requirements. Grant Awards - For five of the seven programs that Michigan funded with its GEER grant (Evolution Labs, Building Healthy Communities: Step Up for School Wellness, Statewide public television, teacher professional learning, and Early On), Michigan could not support that it awarded the funds to eligible entities that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services, providing childcare and early childhood education, providing social and emotional support, or protecting education-related jobs. As a result, Michigan lacks assurance that its awards to four entities under these programs— totaling $5.4 million of the State’s $89.4 million GEER grant—aligned with the purpose of the GEER grant fund. Monitoring Processes - MDE did not have a written plan to monitor its GEER grant subgrantees. It had planned to contract with an audit firm to conduct monitoring of its GEER grant subgrantees; however, as of March 30, 2022, the contract had not been finalized. MDE did, however, conduct some monitoring activities and implement reimbursement processes for its subgrantees.