Monterey County -

MONTEREY COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION Review Report AUDIT RESOLUTION PROCESS Fiscal Year 2019-20 and Fiscal Year 2020-21 BETTY T. YEE California State Controller October 2022 BETTY T. YEE California State Controller October 13, 2022 Deneen Guss, Ed.D., Superintendent Monterey County Office of Education 901 Blanco Circle Salinas, CA 93901 Dear Dr. Guss: The State Controller’s Office reviewed the Monterey County Office of Education’s (COE) audit resolution process for local education agency exceptions noted in the annual audit reports. The review covered fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. Our review found that the Monterey COE followed its audit resolution process for FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. As a result, the Monterey COE was in compliance with California Education Code section 41020. If you have any questions, please contact Joel James, Chief, Financial Audits Bureau, by telephone at (916) 323-1573. Sincerely, Original signed by KIMBERLY TARVIN, CPA Chief, Division of Audits KT/as cc: Colleen Stanley, Ed.D., Chief Business Official Monterey County Office of Education Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director School Fiscal Services Division California Department of Education Keith Smith, Administrator School Fiscal Services Division California Department of Education Christopher Ferguson, Program Budget Manager Education Systems Unit California Department of Finance Monterey County Office of Education Audit Resolution Process Contents Review Report Summary ............................................................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................................ 1 Objective, Scope, and Methodology ................................................................................. 2 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 3 Views of Responsible Officials .......................................................................................... 3 Restricted Use .................................................................................................................... 3 Monterey County Office of Education Audit Resolution Process Review Report Summary The State Controller’s Office (SCO) reviewed the Monterey County Office of Education’s (COE) audit resolution process for local education agency (LEA) exceptions noted in the annual audit reports for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. Our review found that the Monterey COE followed its audit resolution process for FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. Background California Education Code section 41020(n) requires the State Controller to annually select a sample of county superintendents of schools for which the SCO will perform a follow-up review of the audit resolution process. Results of these reviews will be reported to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) and the county superintendents of the schools that were reviewed. In addition, California Education Code section 41020(n) states that the State Controller shall require auditors to categorize audit exceptions in the audit report in such a manner that both the county superintendent of schools and the SSPI can discern the exceptions for which it is their responsibility to ensure that the LEAs take action to correct. The Monterey COE provides coordination of educational programs and professional and financial supervision for 24 LEAs under its jurisdiction. In addition, the county superintendent of schools maintains special schools and programs countywide, independent of the LEAs. County superintendents of schools are required to do the following:  Review, for each of their school districts, audit exceptions relating to attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and any miscellaneous items, and determine whether the findings have been corrected or an acceptable plan of correction has been developed (California Education Code section 41020(i)(1));  Review audit exceptions related to the use of program funds for instructional materials, teacher misassignments, and school accountability report cards. The county superintendents must also determine whether the exceptions have been corrected or an acceptable plan of correction has been developed (California Education Code section 41020(i)(2));  Review audit exceptions related to attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and other miscellaneous exceptions. Attendance exceptions or issues must include those related to local control funding formula allocations pursuant to California Education Code section 42238.02, as implemented by section 42238.03, and independent study (California Education Code section 41020(j)(1));  Notify the LEA, and request that the governing board of the LEA provide to the county superintendent of schools a description of the correction or plan of correction by March 15, 2021, for FY 2019-20. In audit reports for FY 2020-21, the description of the corrections or -1- Monterey County Office of Education Audit Resolution Process plan of correction shall instead be filed no later than April 15, 2022 (California Education Code section 41020(j)(2));  Review the description of the correction or plan of correction and determine its adequacy and, if the LEA’s response was not adequate, require the LEA to resubmit that portion of its response that is inadequate (California Education Code section 41020(j)(3));  By July 15 of the subsequent year, certify to the SSPI and the SCO that the county has reviewed all applicable exceptions, and state that all exceptions have been corrected, or that an acceptable plan for correction has been submitted by the LEA to the county superintendent, except as noted in the certification. In addition, identify by LEA any attendance-related exceptions or exceptions involving state funds, and require the LEA to submit the appropriate reporting forms to the SSPI for processing (California Education Code section 41020(k));  Review LEAs’ unresolved prior-year audit exceptions when the California Department of Education defers to the county (California Education Code section 41020(l)); and  Adjust subsequent local property tax requirements to correct audit exceptions relating to LEA tax rates and tax revenues (California Education Code section 41020(o)). Objective, Scope, The objective of our review was limited to determining whether the Monterey COE followed its audit resolution process for resolving LEA and Methodology audit exceptions in a manner consistent with California Education Code section 41020. Our review did not include an evaluation of the sufficiency of the action taken by the LEA and the Monterey COE to address each exception, nor did it assess the degree to which each exception was addressed. The review period was FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. To achieve our objective, we performed the following procedures:  We verified that the Monterey COE addressed all attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and miscellaneous exceptions. In addition, we verified that the Monterey COE addressed any findings on program funds for instructional materials, teacher misassignments, and school accountability report cards. However, with respect to exceptions based on sample items, our review did not include a determination of whether the exception results were properly quantified and addressed at a districtwide or countywide level.  We verified that the Monterey COE notified LEAs that they must submit completed corrective action forms to the Monterey COE by March 15, 2021, and April 15, 2022, for FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21, respectively. Our review did not include an assessment of the LEAs’ progress in taking corrective action. -2- Monterey County Office of Education Audit Resolution Process  We verified that the Monterey COE required the LEAs to submit the appropriate reporting forms to the SSPI for any attendance-related exceptions that affect state funding.  We reviewed the letters of certification due on July 15, 2020, and July 15, 2021, that the Monterey COE sent to the SSPI and the SCO regarding any resolved and unresolved audit exceptions.  We verified that the Monterey COE followed up with unresolved prior-year audit exceptions that the SSPI required the Monterey COE to conduct.  We verified that the Monterey COE adjusted subsequent local property tax requirements to correct audit exceptions related to LEA tax rates and tax revenues. Our review was conducted under the authority of California Education Code section 41020(n). Conclusion Our review found that the Monterey COE followed its audit resolution process for FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. As a result, the Monterey COE was in compliance with California Education Code section 41020 for FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21. We made no additional determination regarding the Monterey COE’s audit resolution process beyond the scope of the review outlined above. Views of We discussed our review results with Monterey COE’s representative Responsible during an exit conference conducted on August 18, 2022. At the exit conference, the Monterey COE’s representative agreed with our review Officials results. Restricted Use This review report is intended solely for the information and use of the Monterey COE, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Finance, and the SCO; it is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties. This restriction is not meant to limit distribution of this review report, which is a matter of public record and is available on the SCO website at www.sco.ca.gov. Original signed by KIMBERLY TARVIN, CPA Chief, Division of Audits October 13, 2022 -3- State Controller’s Office Division of Audits Post Office Box 942850 Sacramento, CA 94250 http://www.sco.ca.gov S23-COE-9003