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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School Audits

July 25, 2017

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of Charter School of Inquiry, Elmont Union Free School District, Ithaca City School District, North Shore Central School District, Saugerties Central School District and the Wells 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."

Charter School of Inquiry – Student Enrollment and Billing (Erie County)

Certain billings to school districts of residence were not accurate and student enrollment and attendance was not always adequately supported. School officials did not retain 2015-16 attendance records.

Elmont Union Free School District – Financial Condition (Nassau County)

The board adopted budgets for fiscal years 2013-14 through 2015-16 that appropriated a total of $19 million in fund balance to finance operations. However, because the district overestimated expenditures by $19 million over the three-year period, the appropriated fund balance was not used. As a result, the district's unrestricted fund balance has exceeded statutory limits.

Ithaca City School District – Transportation Aid and Information Technology (Tompkins County)

District officials did not apply for all the transportation state aid to which the district was entitled for bus purchases. District officials also did not adequately safeguard personal, private and sensitive information on district servers.

North Shore Central School District – Fuel Inventory (Nassau County)

District officials have no assurance that fuel purchased is properly accounted for and used only for district purposes. In addition, there is an increased risk that fuel leaks or losses could remain undetected, which could prove costly over a period of time.

Saugerties Central School District – Extra-Classroom Activities (Ulster County)

Student treasurers did not maintain adequate supporting documentation for cash receipts and district officials do not have assurance that student treasurers are accounting for all collections or remitting them to the central treasurers in a timely manner. Annual sales tax returns were not filed with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Wells Central School District – Financial Condition Management (Hamilton County)

The district's adopted budgets were unrealistic and included appropriated fund balance not used as planned to fund operations. The budgets overestimated appropriations by almost $1.2 million from 2013-14 through 2015-16. Unrestricted fund balance increased to almost $854,000 or 15 percent of the ensuing year's budgeted appropriations, exceeding the statutory limit by 11.1 percentage points.

For access to state and local government spending and 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.