Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s financial condition for the period July 1, 2013 through February 24, 2017.

Background

The Perry Central School District is located in the Towns of Perry, Castile, Warsaw and Covington in Wyoming County and a portion of the Town of Leicester in Livingston County. The District, which is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education, operates two schools with approximately 850 students. Budgeted appropriations for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $18 million.

Key Findings

• For the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 fiscal years, the Board overestimated appropriations by $4.4 million and appropriated $1.5 million of fund balance that was not needed to finance operations.
• The District’s recalculated unrestricted fund balance exceeds the statutory limit.
• The reserve fund plan does not include any specifics regarding the use of the reserves.

Key Recommendations

• Develop realistic estimates of appropriations and the use of fund balance in the annual budget.
• Use excess funds in a manner that benefits District taxpayers.
• Update the reserve plan to clearly describe the conditions under which reserve funds will be used.