Shrewsbury Public School District's Use of Certain American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor review of how Shrewsbury Public School District handled certain federal stimulus funds for education jobs and special education programs from July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2011.

“In accordance with Chapter 11, Section 12, of the General Laws, we have conducted an audit of certain activities of SPSD for the period July 1, 2009 through September 30, 2011.”

The audit checked whether the district spent the ARRA money for the right purposes, followed grant rules, and met accounting and reporting requirements.

“The objectives of our audit were to determine whether ARRA funds awarded to SPSD for the Education Jobs and IDEA-Part B programs were used for their intended purposes and in compliance with program requirements, and to evaluate whether SPSD was complying with ARRA accounting and reporting requirements.”

Federal stimulus money was supposed to be protected from loss, theft, misuse, and rule violations, so weak controls could put public funds at risk.

“Agencies charged with administering ARRA programs have a responsibility to establish an adequate system of internal controls that will provide reasonable assurance of compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations and will ensure that funds are safeguarded from loss, theft, and misuse.”

For residents, the report helps show whether school grant money was used to support education jobs and special education services, and whether the district had enough safeguards over that money.

“In addition to reporting the uses of program funds, information reported to MRRO indicated that as of September 30, 2011 Education Jobs program expenditures allowed SPSD to retain 48.4 FTE positions and IDEA-Part B program expenditures allowed SPSD to retain 28 FTE positions.”

The audit did not say the district misspent most of the money, but it did find process problems: missing ARRA-specific controls, excess cash held too long, late and inaccurate reports, and incomplete documentation for some expenses.

“SPSD procedures did not adequately provide that all expenditures were supported by sufficient supporting documentation to ensure expenditures are allowable and in accordance with grant expenditure guidelines.”

The auditor recommended that the district create stronger ARRA-specific controls, monitor cash and reporting more closely, return excess funds when needed, and keep better documentation for spending.

“SPSD should develop procedures to provide sufficient and adequate supporting documentation for all ARRA expenditures to ensure they are allowable and in accordance with grant expenditure guidelines.”

The main significance is accountability: the district received over $3 million in federal stimulus awards, so the auditor focused on whether spending and oversight were reliable.

“MRRO reported that the Town of Shrewsbury was awarded $3,016,068 to fund these ARRA programs operated by SPSD.”

ARRA means the federal stimulus law; IDEA-Part B is special education funding; Education Jobs money was meant to save or create school-related jobs.

“The Education Jobs program is a one-time appropriation, which may be used through September 30, 2012, that the U. S. Department of Education (USDOE) awarded to save or create education jobs that provide educational and related services for early childhood, elementary, and secondary education.”