Oneonta City School District –Financial Condition (2013M-165)

Issued Date
August 30, 2013

Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s financial condition for the period July 1, 2011, to March 29, 2013.

Background

The Oneonta City School District is located in the City of Oneonta, the Towns of Oneonta, Davenport, Laurens, Maryland, and Milford in Otsego County and the Town of Davenport in Delaware County. The District is governed by the Board of Education which comprises seven elected members. The District’s general fund budgeted appropriations for the 2012-13 fiscal year were approximately $33.2 million.

Key Finding

  • District officials have taken appropriate action to manage the District’s financial condition. District officials recognized the need to be proactive in budget development and expenditure controls. The District’s Finance Committee meets regularly to monitor and evaluate the current year’s budget and available fund balance and to plan for next years’ budgets. District officials developed reasonable budgets and monitored the budgets throughout the year to properly manage the District’s financial condition. Since 2010, total State aid received by the District has declined more than $1 million (8 percent decrease) and revenues, other than real property taxes, have also declined approximately $1.3 million (48 percent). To offset these declining revenues, the District increased its real property tax levy, cut expenditures by $500,000, and used more than $400,000 of its available surplus.

Key Recommendation

  • There are no recommendations for this report.