Main Banner

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

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School Audits

June 13, 2019

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following school district audits have been issued.

Bolivar-Richburg Central School District – Financial Management (Allegany County)

Auditors compared budgeted appropriations and estimated revenues with actual operating results for 2015-16 through 2017-18 and found that appropriations were overestimated by an average of $1.3 million (7 percent) each year or a total of almost $3.8 million. As of June 30, 2018, surplus fund balance totaled almost $1.5 million, 7 percent of the 2018-19 budgeted appropriations, exceeding the statutory limit by approximately $626,000.

Lackawanna City School District – Tuition (Erie County)

Auditors found that the district did not have adequate and up-to-date residency information to support tuition charges totaling $2.5 million for 162 students (77 percent) attending charter schools and other public or private schools. The district had no registration or residency information on file for 44 of these students and registration information that was out-of-date and/or incomplete for the remaining 118 students. District officials did not review tuition charges for accuracy. As a result, the district was incorrectly billed for nine students, resulting in overpayments totaling $5,300 for eight students and an underpayment of $900 for one student.

Lackawanna City School District – Contractual Services (Erie County)

Payments to two service providers totaling $477,000 (10 percent) were not supported by sufficient documentation to ascertain that services were rendered in accordance with the contract.

Madison Central School District – Reserves and Debt Service Fund (Madison County)

Three reserve funds totaling $1.3 million as of June 30, 2018, were overfunded. The approximately $1 million balance in the debt service fund was not used towards the $2.8 million in debt payments made by the district during the three-year audit period.

Maine-Endwell Central School District – Leave Records (Broome County)

Employee timekeeping records were inconsistent and leave used was not always deducted from the leave accrual records. In addition, district officials did not always ensure employees submitted a leave request form or ensure the legitimacy of leave taken. The district may have paid as much as $14,200 for the cost of substitute employees for unsupported and potentially inappropriate leave taken.

Newburgh Enlarged City School District – Financial Management and Information Technology (Orange County)

The board overestimated expenditures by $17.7 million (7 percent) in 2015-16, resulting in an operating surplus of more than $18.8 million. Auditors reviewed 2016-17 financial reports and estimated total expenditures showed that line items were also overestimated by about $10 million. The district’s Information Technology director did not adequately monitor the electronic devices inventory resulting in items not being recorded.

Pine Valley Central School District – Financial Management (Cattaraugus County)

The board overestimated appropriations by a total of almost $3.2 million (7 percent) over a three-year period. As of June 30, 2018, surplus fund balance totaled $2.4 million, 15 percent of the 2018-19 budgeted appropriations, exceeding the statutory limit by more than $1.8 million. Despite the district generating operating surpluses the board raised real property taxes by $50,000 during that same period.

Wainscott Common School District – Claims Auditing (Suffolk County)

Auditors examined 36 claims totaling $19,358 to determine whether the board audited claims before they were paid. While all 36 claims paid appear to be for actual and necessary district expenditures, auditors found no evidence that the board audited the claims before payment.