Our objective was to determine whether Gulf Coast State College (Gulf Coast) used 2019 Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (Emergency Assistance) program funds in accordance with Federal requirements and its approved application for program funds.
Gulf Coast used about $1.8 million in 2019 Emergency Assistance program funds for activities that were not allowable in accordance with Federal requirements. Specifically, Gulf Coast used about $1.7 million in Emergency Assistance program funds for lost tuition revenue that was not authorized under the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019 (Public Law 116-20) and $96,365 for the purchase of new equipment unrelated to the covered disaster. Gulf Coast identified these uses of funds in a revised budget for its Emergency Assistance grant and provided an analysis related to lost tuition revenue to the Department, who approved the revised budget even though the lost tuition revenue cost was not authorized by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2019.
We made two recommendations, including that the Department require Gulf Coast to reallocate the almost $1.8 million in questioned costs from the Emergency Assistance program funds used for lost tuition revenue and the purchase of equipment for future disasters prior to closing out the grant or return the questioned costs to the Department.
Oversight and Monitoring—Grantees