Worcester Central School District – Unassigned Fund Balance (2016M-1)

Issued Date
May 27, 2016

Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine District officials’ management of unassigned fund balance for the period July 1, 2014 through November 16, 2015.

Background

The Worcester Central School District is located in the Town of Harpersfield in Delaware County and the Towns of Decatur, Maryland, Westford and Worcester in Otsego County. The District, which operates one school with approximately 350 students, is governed by an elected five-member Board of Education. The 2015-16 budget appropriations are $10.9 million.

Key Findings

  • The District’s unassigned fund balance has exceeded the statutory limit in two of the last three fiscal years.
  • For 2012-13 through 2014-15 District officials overestimated appropriations by a combined total of $2.4 million or 7.5 percent.

Key Recommendations

  • Develop a plan to reduce the amount of unassigned fund balance in a manner that benefits District taxpayers. Such uses could include, but are not limited to, using surplus funds as a financing source, funding one-time expenditures or funding needed reserves to finance future capital needs.
  • Adopt more realistic appropriation estimates in the District’s budgets to avoid raising more real property taxes than necessary.