Audit of the Department’s Oversight of the Rural Education Achievement Program

We found that improvements were needed in the Department’s monitoring of Rural Education Achievement Program grantees’ performance and use of funds. We specifically noted that the Department conducted limited monitoring to determine whether grantees were makingprogress toward program goals or spending grant funds in accordance with statutory and regulatory guidelines. Instead, oversight efforts were primarily focused on ensuring grantees were obligating and spending funds by established deadlines. Although we concluded that the Department’s program monitoring could be improved, we found that the Department’s rural education coordination efforts appeared to be effective.