Purpose of Audit

The objective of our audit was to review the District’s management of financial activities for the period July 1, 2012 through May 31, 2016.

Background

The Amherst Central School District is located in the Towns of Amherst and Cheektowaga in Erie County. The District, which operates four schools with approximately 2,900 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. The District’s general fund budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year were $53.6 million.

Key Findings

• The Board did not appropriately budget for certain expenditures totaling approximately $1.4 million (2.6 percent of 2015-16 appropriations) and did not properly monitor spending during the year.
• The District improperly used more than $330,000 from one reserve and overfunded two reserves with balances totaling $954,000.

Key Recommendations

• Conduct a careful and thorough review of the monthly budget status reports and review fund balance projections to develop the ensuing year’s budget and to monitor the District’s financial condition.
• Ensure that reserve fund balances are maintained at reasonable levels; take appropriate action, in accordance with statute, to reduce reserves with excess funds; and restrict the use of reserves to authorized expenditures.