FOR RELEASE:

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Fort Ann Central School District and the Pocantico Hills Union Free School District.

"My office's audits of school districts and BOCES help schools improve their financial management practices," DiNapoli said. "These audits are tools for schools to make sure proper policies and procedures are in place to protect taxpayer dollars and provide students with the best possible education."

Fort Ann Central School District – Internal Controls Over Claims Processing and Information Technology (Washington County)
Auditors found that the district has established an adequate system of checks and balances for claims processing. The audit also noted areas in need of improvement concerning some IT controls. Because of the sensitivity of some of this information, the vulnerabilities are not discussed in this report, but have been communicated confidentially to district officials so they could take corrective action.

Pocantico Hills Union Free School District – Management of Capital Project (Westchester County)
District officials needed to issue change orders that significantly increased the scope and cost of the initial contracts awarded through the bid process, and did not bid this additional work even though it exceeded the statutory dollar thresholds. The total changes to four main construction contracts represented an increase of $1,690,794, or 18 percent, over the $9,510,323 million in original awards. Throughout the construction period, district officials awarded contracts for change orders based on the recommendation of the construction manager and the architect and approved by the interim superintendent and the board.