Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the District’s budgeting practices for the period July 1, 2012 through February 18, 2014.

Background

The District is located in the Towns of Binghamton, Conklin, Kirkwood, Vestal and Windsor in Broome County and is governed by the Board of Education, which comprises seven elected members. There are four schools in operation within the District, with 1,611 students and 330 employees, with budgeted expenditures for the 2013-14 fiscal year of approximately $35.7 million.

Key Finding

• From fiscal years 2008-09 through 2012-13, the Board adopted budgets that planned to use $3.7 million in fund balance to finance the budgets. Instead, the District generated operating surpluses totaling more than $4.3 million from fiscal years 2008-09 through 2011-12.

Key Recommendation

• Adopt realistic budgets that are consistent with the District’s actual revenues and expenditures.