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Desegregation Activities: Administration of Education Grant Funds at the Cleveland School District

HRD-89-83 Published: Aug 29, 1989. Publicly Released: Sep 21, 1989.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Department of Education grants awarded to the Cleveland, Ohio, School District, for desegregation activities, to determine: (1) the total amount of federal funding the school district received; (2) the school district's compliance with a 1978 desegregation court order and grant agreements; (3) the school district's compliance with federal grant conditions and restrictions; and (4) whether Education adequately monitored and administered the grant agreements.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Cleveland School District to return the $1,553,000 of ESAA funds that remained in its accounts when the authorization for ESAA expired in 1982.
Closed – Not Implemented
Education stated the Secretary is barred from recovering this money because the violation occurred more than 5 years ago. GAO continues to believe this recommendation is valid.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should direct the Cleveland School District to review its procurement system to ensure compliance with federal procurement regulations.
Closed – Implemented
With the help of consultants, the District developed a procurement manual that was sent to Education in January 1990. In 1991, Education reviewed the District's procurement system and sent a memo to it suggesting several modifications. Education believes the District's procurement system complies with federal procurement regulations. Education has closed this recommendation.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should work with school district officials to determine the amounts of interest earned on excessive cash balances from federal grant programs over the years, which should be returned to Education.
Closed – Implemented
In July 1992, the Cleveland School District sent Education a check for over $32,000 for the interest earned on excessive cash balances from federal grants.
Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education To determine whether Education's grant management weaknesses seen in Cleveland's MSAP grants are prevalent in other grant programs and other school districts, the Inspector General, Department of Education, should review Education's grant administration policies and practices, especially relating to cash management and grant closeouts.
Closed – Implemented
This recommendation has been kept open until Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) completed a survey of the department's administrative policies and procedures for MSAP grants. After completing this survey, however, OIG decided not to issue a report because no significant problems were found. OIG has no plans to take any other action on this recommendation.

Full Report

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Topics

Advance fundingCivil rights law enforcementEducational grantsGrant administrationGrant monitoringNoncompliancePublic schoolsRacial discriminationSchool districtsUnobligated budget balances