Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s financial management practices for the period July 1, 2013 through January 31, 2015.

Background

The Rome City School District is located in the City of Rome and the Towns of Annsville, Lee, Verona and Western in Oneida County. The District, which operates nine schools with approximately 5,500 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year total approximately $110.4 million.

Key Findings

• District officials appropriated fund balance that was not needed to fund the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2014-15 budgets.
• The Board retroactively approved transfers totaling approximately $4.2 million to reserve funds after the 2011-12 fiscal year-end, rather than including the transfers in the proposed budget.

Key Recommendations

• Discontinue unnecessarily appropriating fund balance solely as a means of keeping unassigned fund balance within the statutory limit.
• Ensure that budgets presented to District residents for approval are transparent and inform them of the District’s intent to increase reserves.