FOR RELEASE:

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed the audit of the Clifton-Fine Central 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.”

Clifton-Fine Central School District – Financial Condition and Transportation Aid Claims (St. Lawrence County)
District officials consistently overestimated expenditures for the past five years, by a total of $4.5 million. As a result, the district had operating surpluses totaling $2.3 million in four of the last five years.  And it did not need to use the majority of the $1.2 million fund balance which the board appropriated as a revenue source in the general fund budgets over the last five years. Despite its budgetary surpluses, the district also increased its real property tax levy by approximately $300,000 – a total of 8 percent – over the last five years. District officials did not adequately inform taxpayers about how the seven general fund reserves were funded. The district overfunded four of these reserves. The district was not claiming all of its eligible miles for state aid. Therefore, during the state aid years 2009-10 and 2010-11 the district potentially lost revenue of $26,500 and $23,000 respectively.