District of Columbia Public Education: Agencies Have Enhanced Internal Controls Over Federal Payments for School Improvement, But More Consistent Monitoring Needed
Highlights
Between fiscal years 2004 and 2009, Congress appropriated nearly $190 million in federal payments for school improvement to the District of Columbia (D.C.). This includes $85 million to the state education office--currently the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)--to expand public charter schools and $105 million to D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) to improve education in public schools. Over the years, GAO and others have identified challenges that DCPS and OSSE face in managing federal monies. This report identifies, on the basis of available information, activities for which OSSE and DCPS used federal payments between 2004 and 2009 and describes how OSSE and DCPS monitored grant and contract recipients, respectively. GAO reviewed expenditure data and interviewed and collected documentation from OSSE and DCPS, among others. GAO reviewed all available grants awarded by OSSE in 2008 and 2009 and 14 of the largest contracts awarded by DCPS during that time.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Office of the Mayor | To improve internal controls for managing the use of federal payments and to provide continuity of information across administrations, the Mayor of the District of Columbia should direct the State Superintendent of Education to establish and implement written policies and procedures for monitoring federal payment grantees. These policies and procedures, which can draw from OSSE's general monitoring practices, should outline OSSE's practices for how staff should document and maintain records of monitoring activities and identify other measures to ensure that grant monitoring is appropriately and consistently implemented. |
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) uses its written policies and procedures to monitor grantees and to document the results, as these funds are now subject to Department of Education oversight. OSSE no longer uses direct appropriations for the public charter school programs as our report discussed.
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| Executive Office of the Mayor | To improve internal controls for managing the use of federal payments and to provide continuity of information across administrations, the Mayor of the District of Columbia should direct the DCPS Chancellor to establish and implement procedures for contract monitoring to ensure that contract monitoring is appropriately and consistently done. Implementing this recommendation would include documenting monitoring activities throughout the term of the contract, directing DCPS to better enforce existing policies to ensure performance evaluations are complete, and developing protocols and procedures for transitioning contracting officer responsibilities and for notifying the contracting office. While implementing this recommendation, DCPS should develop specific guidance on maintaining contract files and other documentation relevant to the use of these funds to ensure that contract records are available for inspection and as a means of retaining institutional knowledge of contracts. |
DCPS implemented steps to address our recommendation. DCPS now requires staff who monitor contracts to take training and holds post-award conferences for all contracts over $100,000, including holding an additional conference when there is a change in the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR). These conferences include key stakeholders and outlines contractor and COTR responsibilities including who is responsible for assessing and documenting contractor performance. The agenda is signed by the relevant stakeholders which indicates a level of supervisory review that should help to ensure that information is appropriately collected. DCPS has also begun to scan all of the Purchase Orders (for contracts under $100K) for storage electronically.
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