Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s reserves and accountability over fuel used for student transportation for the period July 1, 2011 through December 22, 2015.

Background

The Wilson Central School District is located in the Towns of Wilson, Cambria, Lockport, Newfane and Porter in Niagara County. The District, which operates two schools with approximately 1,290 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $24.9 million.

Key Findings

• Four reserves with balances totaling $7.3 million appear to be overfunded and the District has not properly used the debt reserve, which had a balance of $2.9 million, to pay related debt.
• District officials did not provide adequate oversight of fuel and cannot be certain that all fuel purchased by the District was used for District purposes.

Key Recommendations

• Review all reserves at least annually to determine if the amounts reserved are necessary and reasonable, transfer excess funds to unrestricted fund balance or to other reserves and use the money in the debt reserve to pay related debt.
• Establish policies and procedures to safeguard and account for the District’s fuel supplies.