The Uniondale Union Free School District (District) is governed by the Board of Education (Board) which comprises five elected members and one student member. 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.

Scope and Objective

The objective of our audit was to examine the District’s internal controls over financial operations for the period July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. Our audit addressed the following related questions:

• Did District officials solicit request for proposals (RFPs) when procuring professional services, enter into written agreements, and ensure adherence to the terms of those agreements?
  
  
• Are internal controls over wire transfers appropriately designed and operating effectively to adequately safeguard District assets, and were bank reconciliations performed in a timely manner?

Audit Results

District officials did not solicit RFPs when they awarded contracts to an advertising firm ($312,537) and two therapy firms ($220,842) that provided services to the District during the 2005-06 fiscal year, nor did the Board authorize written agreements with those firms. As a result of our audit, the District subsequently entered into a contract with BOCES to provide the same advertising services. Had the District used the RFP process to award the advertising services contract for the 2005-06 fiscal year, it could have saved $127,432. Also, District officials did not adhere to the terms of a security contract and paid a security firm $66,128 more than the contracted amount of $564,965, without preauthorization by the Board to extend the scope of the services.

In addition, District officials did not exercise appropriate supervision over inter-bank transfers. They did not ensure that District personnel performed bank reconciliations in a timely manner, and the Treasurer did not submit his monthly reports to the Board in a timely manner.

Comments of District Officials

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. Except as specified in Appendix A, District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they had initiated corrective action. OSC comments on the District’s response can be found in Appendix B.