Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District’s financial condition in the general and school food service funds and to evaluate internal controls over the cafeteria’s cash operations for the period July 1, 2012 through March 6, 2014.

Background

The Eldred Central School District is located in four towns in Orange and Sullivan Counties. The District, which is governed by an elected five-member Board of Education, operates three buildings with approximately 650 students. Budgeted appropriations for the 2013-14 fiscal year totaled approximately $16.3 million.

Key Findings

• District officials have depleted unexpended fund balances to precariously low amounts.
• The school food service fund has not been self-sufficient and has required annual transfers from the general fund.
• Controls over cafeteria cash collections are weak.

Key Recommendations

• Take steps to establish and maintain financial stability, including significant decreases in expenditures or increases in property taxes and monitoring the use of unassigned fund balance.
• Consider cost savings measures and revenue enhancements for the school food service fund.
• Segregate duties of the staff involved in cash collections for cafeteria sales and student accounts, require reconciliation of register activity to deposit activity and deposit all cash collected daily.