The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Puerto Rico Department of Education (Puerto Rico DOE) used Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations (Restart) program funds for allowable and intended purposes. We determined that the Puerto Rico DOE did not always use Restart program funds for allowable and intended purposes. Specifically, of the approximately $8.6 million in indirect costs that the Puerto Rico DOE charged to its Restart program grant during our audit period, $2.5 million of it was not allowable. The $2.5 million in unallowable costs that the Puerto Rico DOE charged to the Restart program could have been used for allowable activities that would have assisted the Puerto Rico DOE in restarting school operations, reenrolling students, and reopening public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools affected by the covered disaster. We also found that the Puerto Rico DOE needs to improve its management of technology devices it purchased for students and teachers using Restart program funds, and that it made several unallowable payroll payments (using Restart funds) to 3 teachers included in our statistical random sample. We made 8 recommendations to address the issues identified, including that it reallocate unallowable indirect costs it charged to the grant and ensure capitalization policies and procedures are followed.
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Yes | $2,500,000 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the PuertoRico DOE to reallocate the $2.5 million in unallowable indirect costs charged to the Restart program grant. | |||||
| 1.2 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to ensure that a purchasing officer assesses whether equipment purchases should be capitalized using the requirements established in 2 C.F.R. 200.1, the Department’s indirect costs agreements, and Regulation 11 “Basic Rules for the Control and Accounting of Fixed Assets,” (December 2005) | |||||
| 2.1 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to complete its process of identifying schools in need of technology equipment and redistribute the 215 technology equipment devices as appropriate | |||||
| 2.2 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to work with school staff and teachers to find the 21 technology equipment devices that are missing and follow the procedures in the Mobile Devices Management Guide to report the missing equipment to the police, if necessary. | |||||
| 2.3 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to review and update written policies and procedures for the management of fixed assets and mobile equipment devices to ensure that educational regional offices and schools properly manage surplus technology equipment. | |||||
| 2.4 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to perform a comprehensive physical inventory of technology equipment devices purchased with Restart program funds and ensure that the devices are being used, appropriate guidance as updated per Recommendation 2.3 is followed to manage any surplus and missing equipment, and the technology equipment inventory system and pertinent inventory records are updated accordingly. | |||||
| 3.1 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to determine the total amount of payroll payments incorrectly made using Restart program funds and reallocate any unallowable amount to the Restart program grant. | |||||
| 3.2 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Puerto Rico DOE to ensure that staff maintain and manage documents supporting activities funded with Federal education program grants so that records are readily available when needed. | |||||
