Federal Reports

The objectives of our audit were to determine whether the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Massachusetts) ensured that (1) displaced student count data provided to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) were accurate and complete, (2) Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students (Emergency Impact Aid) program funds were appropriately allocated to local educational agencies (LEA), and (3) LEAs appropriately accounted for Emergency Impact Aid program funds within Federal guidelines.We determined that Massachusetts did not ensure that displaced student count data provided to the Department were accurate and complete because it did not have adequate controls to prevent or detect inaccurate displaced student counts.We also determined that Massachusetts did not ensure LEAs appropriately accounted for Emergency Impact Aid program funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

A Chicago man pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, to possession of cannabis on January 24, 2022. Andre Jordan was previously arrested on February 8, 2021, after agents found him to be in possession of approximately 2.2 pounds of cannabis after he deboarded an Amtrak train in Chicago. Jordan was sentenced to 9 months in prison.

Letter to Shalanda Young, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget

Amtrak terminated the contract of a contractor based in Camarillo, California, on January 21, 2022, following the issuance of our investigative report. Our investigation found that the contractor stole two train horns from the Beech Grove Maintenance Facility and later sold them to individuals he met on various train-related internet sites and online forums. In addition, Amtrak required the contractor to remove all equipment from Amtrak property and barred the contractor from entering any Amtrak property in the future.