Quarterly Progress Report: OLA Audit Remedial Measures as of July 1, 2025

Background

Below, you will find Prince George’s County Public School’s (PGCPS) plan for remedial measures in response to the release of the Office of Legislative Audits Report (OLA) in March of 2025. The OLA Audit contained 19 findings which required remedial work on the part of PGCPS. PGCPS’s detailed remedial plan contained multiple steps toward improving every finding along with deadlines for each such remedial step. The overall purpose of this plan is to ensure Prince George’s County Schools are entirely in compliance with the relevant standards outlined in the OLA Report.

In order to provide full transparency, PGCPS will publish on its website quarterly progress reports for each finding listed in the OLA Report. The progress report will list each Finding and give a color-coded status of the progress to date. Below are the color codes:

Green=completed, on schedule

Yellow=completed, behind schedule

Blue=in progress, on track

Orange=lagging, but no missed deadline

Red=implementation is late

Some of the OLA Findings were “Repeat Findings” meaning the Finding or some portion of the Finding appeared in an earlier OLA Audit Report. These will be identified.

July 1, 2025 Progress Report

Finding	New or Repeat	Finding Summary	Corrective Action Plan	Status	Comment
Finding 1	Repeat	Certain requirements of State law and recognized best practices were not incorporated into PGCPS’ procurement policies and were not consistently used when participating in intergovernmental cooperative purchasing agreements (ICPA).	The Purchasing Department will revise the Administrative Procedure 3323 and the Purchasing and Supplies Manual to align with the revised Board Policy 3323, as it relates to intergovernmental cooperative purchasing agreements (ICPA).
Finding 2	Repeat	PGCPS did not always prepare written justifications, obtain Board approval, or publish contract awards for sole source procurements on eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA) as required.	The Purchasing Department will revise the Administrative Procedure 3323 and the Purchasing and Supplies Manual to align with the revised Board Policy 3323. The Purchasing Department must include all of the justifications that are required by COMAR 21.05.05.02-04. Any sole course contract that is at or above the thresholds identified in the policy, must be presented to the board for approval.
Finding 3	New	PGCPS did not execute formal written contracts and did not obtain approval from the Board for special education services.	A formal written contract will be executed with each MSDE approved non-public school. However, competitive bidding will not be required. At the beginning of the school year a report shall be provided to the board that includes a comprehensive list of all approved non-public placements and projected costs, for that school year. At the conclusion of the fiscal year, a detailed report shall be provided to the board detailing all of the expenditures to the non-public placements for the just concluded fiscal year.
Finding 4	Repeat	PGCPS did not analyze, or otherwise limit, the number of time records supervisors were reviewing and approving. We identified certain supervisors who routinely approved a large number of time records each pay period.	By October 2025, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Information Technology Officer will work collaboratively to identify a system that would allow the time approver to delegate time cards to an alternate person in order to reduce the number of time cards the time approver is responsible for approving. Any costs involved in the purchase and utlilization of this system will be incorporated into the FY 2026-2027 school budget. Implementation of the new system will occur during the 2026-2027 academic year.
Finding 5	Repeat	Critical human resources and payroll transactions were not always subject to a documented independent supervisory review.	Preventive measures were established to prevent inaccurate amounts or data from being entered into the payroll fields. Additional staff, to include supervisory level staff, were assigned in the independent review process for salary adjustments calculations. Additional reports were developed to capture discrepancies for biweekly and substitute payrolls and additional payroll runs. IT implemented a data catch point for payroll fields to ensure data entry is accurate upon entry, including reviewing previously processed pay adjustment for propriety. Currently we are working on an automated process to calculate salary adjustments, payout amounts, and retroactive payments. The language below will be incorporated into the Employee Code of Conduct for the 2025-2026 academic year: “Any staff member will be held accountable for overpayments that was caused by their inaccurate entries.” Corrective action will be provided following the defined PGCPS disciplinary action process.	Completed July 12, 2023 June 2026
Finding 6	Repeat	Internal controls and record keeping related to Transportation Department bus driver and bus attendant payrolls were not adequate to ensure the propriety of salary payments.	Transportation Services has revised the daily operational payroll process to enhance accuracy and accountability. This includes clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of staff involved in payroll entry, review, and approval. To support these improvements, Transportation Services has initiated a review of electronic logging systems with current vendors to enhance payroll tracking and reporting. Additionally, a monthly audit sample review of overtime reports is being implemented. This review utilizes GPS data and internal documentation to verify the accuracy of overtime payments and ensure compliance with payroll procedures. Transportation Services is developing and working to implement a training plan to ensure efficacy is reached.
Finding 7	New	PGCPS did not always perform a newly required screening for positions involving direct contact with minors.	PGCPS will begin sending complaints to MSDE in instances where prior employers do not return the required form. PGCPS has historically not sent complaints to the state regarding the lack of return of the forms, which would address the lack of return, and provide PGCPS with additional documentation of the attempts to secure the form. As of August 2024, the process has been moved fully into e-signature services, which allows for better tracking and ease of recipient employer signature and return. Our selected e-signature service also sends out automatic reminders until completed. The Background Unit is exploring a manageable process for filing MSDE complaints for unreturned forms.
Finding 8	Repeat	PGCPS did not complete physical inventories of equipment every three years and resolve missing items from technology equipment inventories in a timely manner as required	IT is finalizing a plan to be completed in Fall of 2025 to conduct physical inventories of all technologies every three years, in all schools and central offices to align with the Assets Operating Manual. The plan will be implemented beginning January 2026. IT developed an Attestation and Inventory Loss Form to list missing equipment identified during physical inventories of schools. Once the Attestation and Inventory Loss form is reviewed and signed by the building administrator, missing equipment items from schools are removed from the building's inventory in asset management. IT will document and replicate a similar process to investigate and resolve missing equipment from central offices beginning in January 2026.
Finding 9		Redacted
Finding 10		Redacted
Finding 11		Redacted
Finding 12	New	PGCPS improperly used an intergovernmental cooperative purchasing agreement (ICPA) to procure a school bus camera system contract resulting in a lack of assurance that it obtained the best value.	Going forward, the Transportation Department will work to ensure that all transportation contracts comply with State law and Board Policy 3323.
Finding 13	Repeat	PGCPS did not use its automated bus routing software to periodically perform a system-wide analysis of routes and related bus capacities to maximize efficiency. In addition, PGCPS had not established comprehensive bus routing procedures.	PGCPS secured a new routing system that enabled the department to create routes with defined start/end times that provided the necessary information for maximum efficiency and budget terms. The department has also prioritized creating routing procedures. The new routing system allows PGCPS to establish seat capacity limits, set maximum ridership goals, and define ride time limits. Reports are generated to ensure accuracy. Due to ongoing bus driver shortages, trips are continuously reviewed for optimal efficiency.	Completed as of August 2024
Finding 14		Redacted
Finding 15	New	PGCPS did not obtain and review claim data to support amounts invoiced by its third-party administrators (TPA) or audit healthcare claims activity paid by the TPA to ensure they were proper.	PGCPS will identify an external Accounting Firm specializing in self-insured health plans to conduct a best practice claims and eligibility audit each calendar year.
Finding 16	New	PGCPS did not apply for available School Resource Officer (SRO) grant funding through the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) to offset the cost of school resource officers for fiscal years 2021 through 2024.	The Office of School Safety and Security will coordinate with the police department and apply for MCSS grants in the future to offset costs.