Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the District’s financial condition for the period July 1, 2012 through February 28, 2015.

Background

The Fort Edward Union Free School District is located in the Village of Fort Edward in Washington County. The District is governed by a Board of Education and has approximately 100 employees and 560 students. Budgeted appropriations for the 2014-15 fiscal year total approximately $10.7 million.

Key Finding

• Although the Board adopted reasonable budgets that included realistic estimates based on historical or known trends, the District relied on the appropriation of fund balance to finance recurring expenditures and, as a result, the budgets were not structurally balanced.

Key Recommendation

• District officials should monitor the District’s use of fund balance to ensure that action is taken, if necessary, to identify other funding sources that can be used to fund operations.