Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s payroll and claims processing operations for the period July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012.

Background

The Watervliet City School District is located in the City of Watervliet in Albany County. The District is governed by the Board of Education which comprises five elected members. The District’s 2011-12 operating expenditures totaled approximately $23 million for the general fund, $1.76 million for special aid fund, and $780,000 for cafeteria fund.

Key Findings

• The District’s non-instructional employees generally earn a fixed number of days of leave time each year for vacation, illness or personal use, and, in some cases, receive cash payments for a portion of those days that are unused at retirement. However, it appears the leave time records for 12 employees were inaccurate, with balances that exceeded or were less than the amounts allowed by 578.96 days, valued at $94,480, and 26.7 days, valued at $2,148.
• The former Superintendant was overpaid by $11,083 at retirement for 17.5 vacation days to which he was not entitled and a former employee was entitled to an additional $13,773 at retirement because he was not paid for 56.25 sick days earned.
• Twenty-six claims totaling $83,562 contained no documentation to indicate they were audited by the claims auditor and 17 claims totaling $41,226 were not audited until after payment.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that all employees receive the leave accruals to which they are entitled in accordance with their employment agreements.
• Ensure that all separation payments are calculated accurately and paid in accordance with employment agreements. Consider recovering apparent overpayments to the former Superintendant totaling $11,083 and paying the former athletic director for the amounts he was apparently entitled to receive totaling $13,773.
• Ensure that all claims, other than those exceptions allowed by Education Law, are audited and approved by the claims auditor before payment.