Evergreen Public Schools did not adequately determine whether three of its vendors had been suspended or debarred from contracting with the federal government, the Washington State Auditor’s Office found.
According to the report, released Monday, Evergreen Public Schools in 2017 spent $5,401,583 in Title I grant funds, money set aside to improve education at schools with a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price meals, a barometer of poverty within a school.
Federal law requires that school districts ensure that any vendors they pay $25,000 or more to using federal money like Title I dollars have not been suspended or debarred from working with the federal government. Evergreen Public Schools failed to take those steps for three vendors that received $439,499 for educational materials last year.
The Auditor’s Office verified the vendors in question had not been suspended or debarred.
According to the U.S. General Services Administration, there’s a wide range of things that may lead to a contractor being suspended or debarred, such as committing fraud or embezzlement, or violating antitrust statutes. The GSA maintains a list of suppliers and vendors that cannot receive federal contracts. Agencies can also obtain written certification from the vendor, or insert a clause into the contract where the vendor says it’s clear to receive federal contracts.
According to the auditor’s report, the district did not know suspension and debarment laws applied to the purchase of goods and materials.
District spokeswoman Gail Spolar said the contracts were for the purchase of software.
“I don’t know the particular software or the particular vendor,” Spolar said. “The fact that we never checked the list was what the finding was for.”
Because the vendors were not suspended or disbarred, the state auditor’s office is not further investigating the purchase.
Its recommendation for the district? Essentially, don’t do it again.
“The District agrees with the State Auditor’s recommendations, and will make the necessary changes to strengthen controls, so that audit conditions of this nature will not happen again,” the district said in its response, according to the auditor’s report.
