State auditor: La Center School District inadequately documented federal special education funding
May 13-The La Center School District did not provide adequate documentation for nearly $49,000 of federal special education funding, according to a state audit.
The Office of the Washington State Auditor's report published Thursday found the district lacked proper internal controls and did not comply with time-and-effort requirements for a portion of federal funding received from the Special Education Grants to States program during the 2025 fiscal year, which was used for payroll and benefits of two employees in the program.
According to the state's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, time-and-effort documentation is required for any salaries and benefits charged to a federal award. It must include the following criteria, among others: "the employee's time must be documented in writing; the documentation must reflect the actual time spent by the employee on activities of the federal program(s) being charged; and the documentation must account for all of the employee's time for the period covered."
A 2024 state audit also flagged the district for time-and-effort documentation. The district said in June 2025 the issue stemmed from a clerical error.
Similarly, the district referred to the finding in the latest audit as "an isolated procedural oversight." The district later provided alternative documentation to the state.
The district spent $381,240 in federal funds for its special education programs in 2025. The audit, which covered Sept. 1, 2024, through Aug. 31, 2025, found the district "transferred $48,846 of salary and benefit amounts to its Special Education Grants to States award that were originally coded to other local and state programs, resulting in the district charging employees to a federal program without obtaining sufficient time-and-effort documentation."
However, the district later provided documentation for two employees' salaries and benefits charged to the program. As a result, the audit did not question those costs because the district showed those employees worked in the program.
"The district's internal controls were ineffective for ensuring it supported all salaries and benefits it charged to the program with appropriate time-and-effort documentation, as federal regulations and OSPI require. ... We consider this deficiency in internal controls to be a material weakness that led to material noncompliance," the audit states.
The audit recommended the district continue to improve its internal controls to comply with federal and OSPI requirements for time-and-effort documentation.
The district's response in the audit acknowledged the time-and-effort documentation did not follow requirements, adding the issue arose from the year-end closing process. To improve its internal controls, the district said the director of special education, district support specialist and business manager will meet during the year-end closing to review and verify all time-and-effort documentation is completed accurately and within the required timeline.
"Given that no federal funds are being questioned and that all programmatic and fiscal requirements were otherwise met, the district asserts that this issue constitutes an isolated procedural oversight rather than a systemic compliance deficiency," the district's response in the audit stated. "The district is grateful that the audit confirms no funds have been misused or misplaced."
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 7:06 AM.