Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine whether the District’s IT assets were adequately safeguarded for the period July 1, 2013 through November 5, 2014.

Background

The Onteora Central School District serves students in the Ulster County Towns of Hurley, Marbletown, Olive, Shandaken and Woodstock and part of the Greene County Town of Lexington. The District, which is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education, maintains four schools with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Budgeted appropriations for the 2014-15 fiscal year totaled approximately $51.9 million.

Key Findings

• The Board did not establish an acceptable use policy, a computer security plan, a disaster recovery plan, policies and procedures for the disposal of computer equipment or a policy for security awareness training.
• The District’s service level agreement with the Ulster County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) for network support specialists was inadequate.
• The District did not keep an inventory of software licenses and its hardware inventory records were not accurate.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt policies and procedures related to computer security, disaster recovery and disposal of computer equipment and ensure that all network users receive security training.
• Establish a written agreement with BOCES that states the District’s needs and expectations and specifies the level of service to be provided by the network support specialists.
• Establish a comprehensive inventory policy and maintain up-to-date inventory records.