Galesburg Reporter

Illinois State Board of Education Finance and Audit Committee met Sept. 1.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

I. Roll Call

Chairperson Jane Quinlan brought the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present with three members. Chairperson Quinlan made the declaration, “An in-person meeting is not practical or prudent because of a disaster. Physical presence for the meeting is unfeasible due to the disaster.” All attendees joined via phone. She verified that each member could hear one another and follow the discussion, and that they were able to testify.

Members Present

Chairperson Jane Quinlan

Dr. Chris Benson

Dr. David Lett

Other Board Members Present

Darren Reisberg

Staff

Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, State Superintendent

Kirsten Parr, Board Services Coordinator

Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent

Dr. Brenda M. Dixon, Research & Evaluation Officer

Alan Clemens, NIU employee

Carisa Hurley, Director of Early Childhood

Jeremy Mehochko, Director of Project Management

Ernesto Matias, Education Officer

Jason Helfer, Deputy Officer of Instructional Education

Jeff Aranowski, Executive Director of Safe & Healthy Climate

Krish Mohip, Deputy Officer of Operation Education Officer

William Witkowsky, Director of Information Systems

Robert Wolfe, Financial Officer

Tassi Maton, Internal Audit Officer

Cara Wiley, Director of Wellness

II. Public Participation

No public participation at this time.

III. Approval of Minutes: August 4, 2020

Dr. Benson made the motion for the Finance and Audit Committee to approve the Aug. 4, 2020, meeting minutes.

Dr. Lett seconded the motion, and it passed by roll call vote.

IV. Review of Contracts and Grants Over $1 Million

These are items that were previously discussed and brought forth today to address any additional questions or concerns.

A. Approval of Title I School Improvement – 1003(a) Allocations

No questions or concerns.

B. Approval of Youth Build Illinois Grant

Chair Quinlan asked how the program could expand if the size of the grant is the same. Ms. Wiley explained that existing programs would be using money from the previous year, and the incoming money would be used for expansion.

C. Approval of After School Programs Grants (Allocations for LEAs and RFP for Non-LEAs)

No questions or concerns.

V. Current Audits and Forthcoming Reports

A. Fiscal Year 2019 Statewide Single Audit Report status: Acceptance of State of Illinois Single Audit Report for the Year Ended June 30, 2019

Ms. Maton presented information on the report.

Dr. Lett asked how many findings there were last year vs. this year and how many were repeats. Ms. Maton answered that the previous year there were six total findings related to ISBE; there were five this year, and four of them were repeats.

Mr. Reisberg asked if any of the findings could be attributed to leadership changes. Ms. Maton explained that there is one area in which there has been a recent leadership change, and her department is learning about the existing issue and how to address it. Mr. Reisberg and Chair Quinlan asked if there was anything the committee could do to help prevent repeat findings. Ms. Maton explained that the permanent resolution of the findings is mostly up to the external auditors, but she will also be implementing a previously used strategy of reporting the findings and performing follow-ups.

Dr. Lett asked if any of the repeat findings were surprising. Ms. Maton explained that the length of time it takes to address concerns in the audits makes it unsurprising. Dr. Lett asked which findings had been resolved from the previous audit. Ms. Maton said she would address this question in a follow-up email.

B. FY 2020 Financial & Compliance Audit status

Ms. Maton reported that this process is still underway.

VI. Discussion Items

A. Budget Hearing Update

Mr. Wolfe reported that there will be three hearings -- on Oct. 7 (4-7 p.m.), Oct. 14 (1-4 p.m.), and Oct. 16 (1-4 p.m.). The application for budget hearing submissions will go live on Sept. 14 and be available until Oct. 21. A PowerPoint presentation explaining the budget process is being put together. The budget process has begun and will be occurring simultaneously with the hearings.

B. Ed360 and the Financial Planning Tool

Ms. Dixon introduced Mr. Witkowsky, who presented findings from the audit. Mr. Witkowsky spoke about useage of the Ed360 platform and the lack of repeat visitors to the site. He provided information about the duplication of data and the resources available through the Illinois Interactive Report Card. He explained that we could house the data on one site moving forward, allowing the data migration and future updates to be housed on the Northern Illinois University platform.

Dr. Lett made an important note that in order for the tools to be fully utilized, we must provide professional development (PD) support on an annual basis. This is due to the constant changeover in administrations of Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Dr. Ayala expressed agreement that ongoing support needs to be provided in order for these initiatives to be sustainable. Dr. Benson echoed this importance. Ms. Dixon and Mr. Clemens assured the committee that there is an existing system in place that provides PD on a rolling basis. The processes will be expanded to accommodate the new programming.

Mr. Reisberg highlighted the importance of clarity in branding of the tools.

C. FY 2021 Budget Update

Mr. Wolfe informed the committee that the agency has distributed approximately $586 million from our General Funds appropriations. We currently have $128 million that are processed vouchers by the agency, but has not been issued by the Comptroller. The oldest voucher date is July 16, 2020, so we have an approximate 47-day delay right now. The backlog at the state level is almost $9 billion. Our FY 2021 General Funds budget is approximately $40 billion. We have appropriations for school construction, but we are waiting to see if we will get a release from the Governor’s Office to make those grants available. At this time, there have been no communications about a shift in priority on the Evidence-Based Funding payments.

D. Competitive Grant Schedule Update

Dr. Matias and Mr. Mehochko spoke on this topic. Dr. Matias explained that an update on the grants is provided every Monday. Meetings are held every two weeks with Finance. Mr. Mehochko explained that the grants on the sheet are from FY 2021; the process of identifying FY 2022 competitive grants has begun.

Release of FY 2021 grants has been moved from July to sometime in the window of September-December due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

E. Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act/GEER Funding Report

Mr. Wolfe provided information on this funding. There were allocation grants put out in the spring. There were 992 entities that applies, 943 of which have been approved. There are also more applications to come.

The agency has provided $128 million in funding thus far. Currently, there is an open window for Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Early Childhood funding. There was $10 million allocated to Early Childhood, with 168 entities eligible for it. As of Aug. 3, 166 applications have been approved. A total of $80 million is being allocated in Digital Equity grants. The opportunity for school districts to apply for professional development grants closed Sept. 4, 2020. The Illinois Education Association/Illinois Federation of Teachers written agreement for virtual coaching has been finalized. The agency submitted Illinois’ baseline data for the maintenance of effort requirements to the federal government.

F. IL-EMPOWER 2.0 Funding Status

Dr. Matias and Mr. Helfer provided a list of potential funding sources. They explained potential strategies for obtaining funding both soon and sustainably. They listed the next steps that qualified schools will need to take. They explained how allocations are determined. They listed the next steps for the agency, which are to include a draft manual in the next Board Weekly Update and to complete contracts with primary partners.

VII. New Business: Items for the next agenda

Chair Quinlan requested an update on a review of the hiring process used by Human Resources.

VIII.Next Meeting: October 6, 2020

IX. Adjourn

Dr. Lett moved to adjourn. Dr. Benson seconded, and it passed by roll call vote. Chairperson Quinlan adjourned the committee at 11:30 a.m.

https://www.isbe.net/Documents_Board_Meetings/20200901-Finance-Audit-Minutes.pdf