Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District’s fund balance for the period July 1, 2014 through March 2, 2016.

Background

The Franklin Square Union Free School District is located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County. The District, which operates three elementary schools with approximately 1,840 students, is governed by a five-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $36.7 million.

Key Findings

• Unrestricted fund balance has exceeded the 4 percent statutory limit for the last three completed fiscal years by an average of 11.9 percentage points.
• District budgeting practices made it appear that the District needed to both raise the tax levy and use fund balance to close projected budget gaps.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure the amount of unassigned fund balance complies with the statutory limits and reduce the amount of surplus fund balance in a manner that benefits District residents.
• Discontinue the practice of adopting budgets that result in the appropriation of fund balance that is not used to finance District operations