A Performance Audit
An Audit Report on Selected Facilities Funding Programs at the Texas Education Agency
August 2017
Summary Analysis
The Texas Education Agency (Agency) did not have adequate controls over certain aspects of its administration of the Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA) to ensure compliance with state law, administrative rules, and other Agency requirements. Specifically:
• The Agency’s process did not always ensure that school districts met key statutory and Agency requirements to receive IFA assistance.
• During the most recent award cycle, the Agency did not always calculate IFA awards accurately, consistently, or in accordance with requirements.
There are two statutory requirements for determining whether school districts’ bonds are eligible for Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) assistance. The Agency’s process ensured that bonds met the timing eligibility requirement in statute for EDA assistance. Specifically, school districts made payments on the bonds during the final school year of the preceding state fiscal biennium, as required by Texas Education Code, Section 46.033(1). However, the Agency’s methodology and rules for determining whether school districts’ bonds were eligible for EDA assistance may not fully align with the other eligibility requirement in statute. Specifically, the Agency provided both EDA assistance and IFA assistance to school districts for debt service on the same bonds, which may be inconsistent with Texas Education Code, Section 46.033(2).
Auditors determined that the Agency’s methodology for calculating IFA and EDA assistance complied with statutory funding formulas.
The Texas Education Agency (Agency) did not have adequate controls over certain aspects of its administration of the Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA). As a result, auditors identified issues in the Agency’s review of applications and calculation of new IFA awards.
There are two statutory requirements for determining whether school districts’ bonds are eligible for Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) assistance. While the Agency ensured that bonds met one of those requirements, its methodology may not fully align with the other requirement.
The Agency calculated IFA and EDA assistance in accordance with the funding formulas in the Texas Education Code.
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