New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Alfred-Almond Central School District, Beacon City School District, Charlotte Valley Central School District, Chenango Valey Central School District, East Moriches Union Free School District, Eldred Central School District, Fabius-Pompey Central School District, Green Tech High Charter School and the Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District.
“In an era of limited resources and increased accountability, it’s critical that schools make every dollar count,” DiNapoli said. “By auditing school district and charter school finances and operations, my office continues to provide taxpayers the assurance that their money is being spent appropriately and effectively.”
Alfred-Almond Central School District – Financial Software Access and Monitoring (Allegany County)
Although a previous audit recommended that the district adopt policies and procedures that restrict users’ financial software application permissions to only those functions that are necessary for their job duties, the district did not act on this recommendation. As a result, auditors identified 24 user accounts that had inappropriate or unnecessary access rights or permissions. Auditors also confirmed that the former district treasurer attempted to manipulate her paid leave accruals by adding 60 unauthorized sick days valued at approximately $10,000. District officials notified auditors that they discovered through an informal review of leave records that the former treasurer attempted to manipulate her paid leave records. District officials corrected the leave records, and the former treasurer did not receive any undue benefit.
Beacon City School District – Budget Review (Dutchess County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the preliminary budget are reasonable. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
Charlotte Valley Central School District – Budget Review (Delaware County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the preliminary budget are reasonable. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
Chenango Valley Central School District – Budget Review (Broome County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the preliminary budget are reasonable. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
East Moriches Union Free School District – Budget Review (Suffolk County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the tentative budget are reasonable, except for appropriations for tuition fees for high school students, charter school tuition fees and social security and Medicare taxes. In addition, revenues from tuition payments received from other districts may be overestimated. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
Eldred Central School District – Budget Review (Orange County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the preliminary budget are reasonable. However, the district’s proposed budget for health insurance is $164,625 higher than supporting documentation for health insurance estimates. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
Fabius-Pompey Central School District – Budget Review (Onondaga County)
The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the preliminary budget are reasonable. The district’s preliminary budget complies with the property tax levy limit.
Green Tech High Charter School – Resident Tuition Billing (Albany County)
Auditors found $306,175 in school district billings were not paid in a timely manner because resident school districts denied payment due to lack of proof of residency or other enrollment issues.
Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District – Financial Condition (Niagara County)
A delay in state aid reimbursements for the Tuscarora Indian School has caused cash flow problems for the district. Without the aid, the district used general fund resources and cash flow borrowing to finance operations. The district has also issued a significant amount of short-term cash flow borrowing during the past three fiscal years.
For access to state and local government spending and nearly 50,000 state contracts, visit OpenBookNY. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.