Background

The Massena Central School District (District) is located in the Towns of Brasher, Louisville, Massena, and Norfolk in St. Lawrence County. The District is governed by the Board of Education (Board) which comprises nine elected members. The Board is responsible for the general management and control of the District’s financial and educational affairs. The Superintendent of Schools (Superintendent) is the chief executive officer of the District and is responsible, along with other administrative staff, for the day-to-day management of the District under the direction of the Board.

There are five schools in operation within the District, with approximately 2,900 students and 450 employees. The District’s budgeted expenditures for the 2005-06 fiscal year were $42.4 million, funded primarily with State aid, real property taxes, and grants.

District business operations are carried out by a Treasurer and two account clerks. The Assistant Superintendent oversees business operations, in addition to serving as deputy Treasurer and purchasing agent. The Board appointed a part-time claims auditor to approve or disapprove non-payroll claims against District funds. During the 15-month period July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006, the District disbursed 5,734 non-payroll checks totaling $47.5 million from its consolidated checking account.

Objective

The objective of our audit was to determine if the District’s internal controls over cash disbursement activities were appropriately designed and operating effectively. Our audit addressed the following related question:

• Are internal controls over cash disbursements appropriately designed and operating effectively to adequately safeguard District assets?

Scope and Methodology

We examined internal controls related to non-payroll District cash disbursements for the period July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.

We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS). More information on such standards and the methodology used in performing this audit are included in Appendix B of this report.

Comments of District Officials and Corrective Action

The results of our audit and recommendations have been discussed with District officials and their comments, which appear in Appendix A, have been considered in preparing this report.

The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. Pursuant to Section 35 of the General Municipal Law, Section 2116-a (3)(c) of the Education Law and Section 170.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, the Board must approve a corrective action plan that addresses the findings in this report, forward the plan to our office within 90 days, forward a copy of the plan to the Commissioner of Education, and make the plan available for public review in the District Clerk’s office. For guidance in preparing the plan of action, the Board should refer to applicable sections in the publication issued by the Office of the State Comptroller entitled Local Government Management Guide.