WDE Audit Response to DOA Audit

November 5, 2003 Richard Q. Cummings Department of Audit Public Funds Division Herschler Building Cheyenne, WY 82002 Dear Mr. Cummings: The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) has reviewed the report of the Department of Audit (DOA) of its examination of the Wyoming Funding Model in relation with the Wyoming Department of Education for the period 7/1/01-6/30/02. I am in agreement with the following responses to your report prepared by my staff. • Chapter 1: Average Daily Membership (ADM) o To determine if WDE ensures that the information submitted by the districts concerning foundation reimbursement is accurate. § Because the WDE relies on the districts’ information, there appears to be minimal controls in place to ensure that the average daily membership numbers submitted by the district are correct. § Recommendation: Review policies and procedures to determine if anything can be done to improve controls. § Response: The department believes that in situations such as this, it must rely on the information initially submitted by the district. In the case of ADM numbers submitted by the districts, a “reasonable” check for each district is performed. This check compares the ADM to the beginning enrollment. In most cases, the ADM should not be higher than the enrollment. Districts are contacted in those situations where any items seem out of the ordinary, including those where the ADM seems too low compared to ...