The district purchased Chromebooks for students in the 2022 fiscal year using money from the Federal Communications Commission's Emergency Connectivity Fund.
The program's regulations indicated the money was to be used to fulfill "unmet needs" amid the COVID-19 pandemic but not to purchase goods or services for future use.
According to the 2023 audit, which spans Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2022, the district lacked proper records for how money from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund was allocated, according to the school district's Monday news release.
The FCC's "guidance to schools lacked detailed descriptions of the type of records schools should maintain to document their compliance with the grant requirements," the news release states, referring to state Auditor Pat McCarthy's 2023 opinion piece in The Seattle Times.
"BGPS estimated student need for the devices at the time of its grant application, inventoried all Chromebooks and retained data on student use of the devices," according to the news release.
On Feb. 27, the FCC issued a letter to the district. After reviewing the audit report and the district's response, the FCC determined that the district complied with Emergency Connectivity Fund program rules because the actual unmet need was calculated, the letter states.
The letter also states that the commission will not seek any recovery funds and considers the matter resolved.
The most recent state audits, spanning Sept. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2024, confirmed that Battle Ground has followed state laws and district policies with no fraud, significant errors or misuse of funds, the news release states. The district also has received its 14th consecutive clean accountability report since 2010.
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