Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District’s financial management for the period July 1, 2012 through September 23, 2015.

Background

The Churchville-Chili Central School District is located in four towns in Monroe County. The District, which operates six schools with approximately 3,900 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year total approximately $79.5 million.

Key Findings

• The Board and District officials adopted budgets that overestimated operating expenditures by 6 to 7 percent between fiscal years 2012-13 and 2014-15, totaling almost $15 million.
• The District reported year-end unrestricted fund balance that complied with the 4 percent statutory restriction from fiscal years 2012-13 through 2014-15. However, when adding back unused appropriated fund balance, the District actually exceeded the limit in each year.
• The Assistant Superintendent for Business provides the Board with an annual reserve report that includes the reserve balances and planned uses, but does not address the establishment of each reserve, specific funding and expenses of the reserves to date, as required by the reserve funds policy.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt budgets that reflect the District’s actual needs and include realistic estimates based on historical trends.
• Develop a plan to reduce the amount of unrestricted fund balance in a manner that benefits District taxpayers.