Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District’s financial operations for the period July 1, 2014 through November 30, 2015.

Background

The Liberty Central School District is located in the Towns of Bethel, Fallsburg, Liberty, Neversink, Rockland and Thompson in Sullivan County. The District, which operates two schools with approximately 1.625 students, is governed by a nine-member Board of Education. General fund budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year total approximately $42.9 million.

Key Findings

• The unemployment insurance and retirement contribution reserves were overfunded by $1.6 million.
• The school lunch fund is not yet financially self-sufficient.

Key Recommendations

• Review all reserve balances and transfer excess funds to other needed reserves or unrestricted fund balance, where allowed by law, or use the reserve funds for their designated purposes.
• Monitor cost-effectiveness of participation in the National School Lunch Program Community Eligibility Provision and make changes to operations as needed.