Highland Central School District – Non-Instructional Overtime (2021M-8)

Background

The District is located in the Towns of Esopus, Lloyd, Marlborough, New Paltz and Plattekill in Ulster County. It is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education (Board) responsible for the general management and control of financial and educational affairs.

The Superintendent of Schools is the chief executive officer responsible, along with other administrative staff, for day-to-day management under the Board’s direction.

Employees’ immediate supervisors are responsible for scheduling overtime. Immediate supervisors and central administration are responsible for approving overtime.

Quick Facts
2018-2019 Expenditures $44,659,882
2019-2020 Appropriations $44,442,937
Total Overtime Paid During the Audit Period $308,968
Employees 494
Enrollment 1,668

Audit Period

July 1, 2018 – January 31, 2020

Issued Date
June 04, 2021

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether Highland Central School District (District) officials properly authorized and monitored overtime for non-instructional employees.

Key Findings

District officials did not properly authorize and monitor overtime for non-instructional employees or review the overtime payment calculations. As a result:

  • 20 non-instructional employees were paid overtime totaling $203,444, primarily for non-emergencies. With appropriate scheduling, over $60,000 of these overtime payments could have been avoided or reduced.
  • 10 employees were overpaid for 189.75 overtime hours totaling $7,551 and seven employees were underpaid for 39.25 overtime hours totaling $1,158.

Key Recommendations

  • Adopt policies and procedures with clear guidelines for overtime work, including approval of overtime, to ensure that only necessary overtime charges are being incurred.
  • Implement procedures for supervisory review of hours worked for accuracy of manual calculations of overtime charges.
  • Ensure these policies and procedures are monitored and enforced.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.