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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

January 9, 2018

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of Aloma D. Johnson Charter School, Center Moriches Union Free School District, Colton-Pierrepont Central School District, Kendall Central School District, Madison-Oneida BOCES, South Country Central School District, Ticonderoga Central School District, Wellsville Central School District and the Westmoreland 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."

Aloma D. Johnson Charter School – Leave Accruals (Erie County)

School officials did not maintain accurate, complete and supported leave accrual and use records. Auditors compared the 2015-16 leave balances for all 62 employees to the 2016-17 beginning leave balances recorded in the employee leave records and found that 12 of these employees' leave carryover amounts were overstated by 47 days.

Center Moriches Union Free School District – Medicaid Reimbursements (Suffolk County)

The district did not claim $117,670 in costs for individual education plan-related services provided to Medicaid-eligible students because it did not obtain prescriptions, parental consent was not obtained or service providers did not meet certain qualifications for reimbursement or did not provide the proper documentation for claiming reimbursement.

Colton-Pierrepont Central School District – Financial Duties (St. Lawrence County)

Salaries and wages were accurately calculated and paid. However, the district clerk's duties are not adequately segregated because she processes all non-payroll and payroll disbursements with limited oversight.

Kendall Central School District – Capital Project (Orleans County)

Officials did not present a district-wide capital improvement project to the public in a transparent manner. Because the project's actual cost ended up being below the maximum amount authorized by the voters, officials had an opportunity to spend significantly less than anticipated. However, district officials decided to complete additional work and expand the project scope without informing the voters.

Madison-Oneida Board of Cooperative Educational Services (2017M-239)

Employee salaries and wages were accurately paid. However, payroll access rights were not adequately restricted to employees based on job duties. In addition, duties related to the payroll certification process were not properly segregated.

South Country Central School District – Information Technology Inventory (Suffolk County)

The district does not have a complete and accurate inventory of information technology (IT) equipment. District officials have not adequately accounted for IT assets and they have no assurance that the assets have been adequately protected from loss, theft or misuse. Further, in the event of a disaster, district officials would be unable to provide its insurance company with an accurate list of IT assets to replace.

Ticonderoga Central School District – Transportation State Aid and Extra-Classroom Activity Funds (Essex County)

The district did not apply for all transportation state aid for new bus acquisitions. As a result, the district was in danger of potentially losing $194,852 in state aid. In addition, club collections were not supported by adequate documentation and were not always deposited in the amounts received.

Wellsville Central School District – Financial Management (Allegany County)

The district's unrestricted fund balance has exceeded the statutory limit for the past three fiscal years by amounts ranging from $1.5 million to nearly $3 million. District officials have also allowed the unemployment reserve balance to accumulate to an excessive level and have not used funds from the retirement contribution reserve as budgeted.

Westmoreland Central School District – State Transportation Aid (Oneida County)

District officials did not apply for state transportation aid within one year of purchase for 18 buses purchased during our audit period. During the audit, the district business manager prepared and submitted state aid forms to the New York State Department of Education for the 18 buses, and the district should receive approximately $1.3 million in transportation aid for these buses through 2021-22.

For access to state and local government spending, public authority financial data and information on 140,000 state contracts, visit Open Book New York. The easy-to-use website was created to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.