State Education Department

Controls Over State Aid Processing (Follow-Up Report)

Each year, billions of dollars in State aid is paid to school districts. The payments are based on calculations made by the State Education Department, and the calculations are made with formulas that use data obtained from the school districts. This data is submitted to the Department electronically, and the State aid calculations are performed electronically. In audit report 2003-S-25, we examined the controls over the integrity of the data maintained and processed on the Department’s electronic State Aid Processing System, and also examined whether continuous processing capability was adequately provided for in the event of a disaster or other mishap. We found that, while controls over access to the System were effective, certain improvements could be made in the areas we examined. When we followed up on these matters with Department officials, we found that they had made considerable progress in implementing most of our audit recommendations. Due to the sensitivity of these matters, our detailed audit findings were not included in either our original audit report or our follow-up report.

For a complete copy of Report 2006-F-3 click here.