Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine if leave accrual records were accurate for the period July 1, 2014 through April 30, 2016.

Background

The Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District is located in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. The District, which operates 11 schools with approximately 7,800 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $173 million.

Key Findings

• District officials have not developed written procedures documenting the type of records to be maintained or guidelines for using, approving, recording and reviewing leave accruals.
• The District allowed 10-month employees to accrue five days of personal leave instead of the four allowed by their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
• We found that two supervisory employees were responsible for approving their own absences.

Key Recommendations

• Develop and implement written policies documenting the type of leave records to be maintained and procedures to follow for using, approving, recording and reviewing leave accruals.
• Award personal days in accordance with individual contracts and CBAs.
• Develop a procedure to ensure that employees do not approve their own absences.