To ensure strong fiscal stewardship of public funds and to meet State and Federal audit requirements, the Department will request a school administrative unit to submit a corrective action plan whenever the school administrative unit's annual audit and/or municipality's annual audit (for municipal school units) contains audit findings, management comments and/or recommendations that have been identified by the audit firm.
The components of a sound corrective action plan include:
- Description of the corrective action that will be implemented.
- A description of the current processes that are in place; or
- What new processes will be put in place to resolve the issue(s) identified?
- Contact person(s) responsible for monitoring and maintaining corrective procedures.
- Anticipated completion date of the corrective action.
- When will the new processes be put in place, or
- How will the school unit ensure that the current process is followed in a timely manner?
If the school administrative unit does not file the corrective action plan within the timeline established by the Commissioner, monthly subsidy payments may be withheld from the school administrative unit in accordance with 20-A MRSA §6801-A, until the plan is received.
The corrective action plan will be reviewed by the Department's Fiscal Review and Compliance Team; the team may request clarification or additional information. Once the plan has been accepted by the Department, a management decision letter will be issued to the Superintendent and a copy sent to municipal officials (where applicable). There may be situations where the municipal officials receive the management decision letter directly if findings related to the school department are addressed within the municipal audit versus the municipal school department's audit. Corrective action plans will be retained on file within the Department and the subsequent year audit will be compared to the plan to ensure that the school administrative unit is meeting its goals, as set forth in the plan.