Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine whether School officials used a competitive process to procure goods and services for the period July 1, 2015 through July 26, 2017.

Background

The Tapestry Charter School, located in the City of Buffalo, is a public school that is not under the local school board’s control. The School, which has approximately 800 students, is governed by an 11-member Board of Trustees. Operating expenses for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $11.6 million.

Key Findings

• The Board did not adopt a comprehensive purchasing policy.
• School officials made payments to 12 vendors totaling $272,884 that required quotes, but did not obtain the required quotes for six of these vendors paid $112,611 (or 41 percent) for goods and services.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt a comprehensive purchasing policy to provide detailed guidance for School officials and employees involved with the procurement process.
• Seek competition and obtain quotes for purchases as required by the policy.