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Audit Objective

Determine whether District officials ensured that charter school tuition billing for Public Excess Cost Aid (PECA) was accurate.

Key Findings

• District officials did not ensure the proper formula to calculate PECA set-aside amounts was used. As a result, the District overpaid for charter school tuition by $1 million (18 percent of PECA set-aside) in 2017-18. After discussing it with us, District officials took corrective action to avoid a potential $1.7 million overpayment in 2018-19.
• The Board and District officials did not adopt written policies or procedures for charter school tuition billing.

Key Recommendations

• Annually review the New York State Education Department (SED) State aid handbook for the updated formula and rates to determine PECA set-aside amounts for charter school tuition billing.
• Develop and adopt written policies and procedures for charter school tuition billing.

District officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated that they have initiated, or planned to initiate, corrective action.