PSS remains under USDOE’s special conditions

Although the Public School System has been taken off the high-risk grantee status by the U.S. Department of Education, its 2004 grant awards remain under “special conditions.”

USDOE deputy secretary Eugene W. Hickok told Gov. Juan N. Babauta in an Aug. 11, 2004, letter that all fiscal year 2004 department grants to PSS will be awarded subject to three special conditions.

These include the continuation of the single audits and reports submission “on an annual basis, timely and complete manner”; continued update on the CNMI-PSS website regarding its budget, applications and reports for general public; and continued provision of a detailed report every two years, which describes its administration of program funds, including expenditures, and progress of each significant aspect of programs at the district level.

Hickok said that PSS, specifically, should demonstrate how it is addressing the repeat audit findings associated with monitoring and evaluating department programs, and tracking of property purchased with department funds.

These reports shall be signed by authorized PSS official and submitted to the USDOE no later than 30 days after the end of each six-month period.

If a report is not timely or is not considered acceptable by the department after consultation with PSS, “the department may restrict the amount of grant funds that can be drawn down until sufficient documentation is provided.”

Hickok said single audits and reports should be completed and published within nine months after the end of each fiscal year.

If PSS expects a delayed audit or report, it shall notify the department of the reason and extent of the delay as soon as possible.

Hickok said the conditions will also apply to PSS’ unexpended portion of the FY 2003 grants.

PSS earlier announced USDOE’s decision to de-list the system from the high-risk designation status due to “significant progress” in administering department programs.

The department imposed the special conditions on PSS when it was placed on the high-risk category in Sept. 2003 due to untimely and incomplete submission of audits and reports. Likewise, the department restricted PSS to a 50 percent drawdown of its grant awards.

“Beyond the efforts to address the findings related to fiscal accountability of Department funds, CNMI [PSS] has undertaken corrective action for programmatic audit findings and is currently instituting corrective actions,” said Hickok.