Background

The Penfield School District (District) is located in the Towns of Penfield, Brighton, Pittsford, and Perinton in Monroe County, and the Towns of Macedon and Walworth in Wayne County. The District is governed by the Board of Education (Board) which comprises seven 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 six schools in operation within the District, with approximately 5,000 students and 1,100 employees. The District’s budgeted expenditures for the 2005-06 fiscal year were $70.4 million, which were funded primarily with State aid, real property taxes, and grants.

The District maintains fuel inventories in two 12,000 gallon storage tanks, one containing diesel and the other containing gasoline, which are located underground on District property. The fuel inventories are shared between the District’s Transportation Department and Buildings and Grounds Department. In addition, the District allows the County Sheriff’s Department and the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) Driver Education program to use the fuel. The District invoices the Sheriff’s Department and BOCES monthly for fuel consumed by these departments. During the 2005-06 fiscal year, the District purchased approximately 145,000 gallons of fuel at a cost of $320,000.

Objective

The objective of our audit was to evaluate internal controls over the District’s fuel inventories. Our audit addressed the following related question:

• Are internal controls over fuel inventories appropriately designed and operating effectively?

Scope and Methodology

We examined the District’s internal controls over fuel inventories for the period July 1, 2005 to November 15, 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. District officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have initiated corrective action.

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.