Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s transportation State aid procedures and reserve funds for the period July 1, 2012 through February 29, 2016.

Background

The Edwards-Knox Central School District is located in the Towns of Canton, Clare, Edwards, Fine, Hermon, Pierrepont and Russell in St. Lawrence County. The District, which operates one school with approximately 610 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $13.3 million.

Key Findings

• The District did not apply in a timely manner for all the transportation State aid to which it was entitled for new bus purchases and did not establish procedures for doing so.
• The District did not appropriately establish, fund or use four of its reserves totaling $2.4 million and did not adopt a reserve policy.
• The District used funds from its retirement contribution reserve for a purpose that was not statutorily authorized.

Key Recommendations

• Implement an independent review of the preparation, submission and receipt of transportation State aid documentation and an annual reconciliation of transportation State aid.
• Adopt and implement a comprehensive policy for establishing, funding and using reserve funds