Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to assess the District’s financial condition for the period July 1, 2014 through February 29, 2016.

Background

The Adirondack Central School District is located in the Towns of Ohio, Russia and Webb in Herkimer County; the Towns of Lewis, Leyden, Lyonsdale and West Turin in Lewis County; and the Towns of Annsville, Ava, Boonville, Forestport, Lee, Remsen, Steuben and Western in Oneida County. The District, which operates five schools with approximately 1,300 students, is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $28.6 million.

Key Findings

• In recent years, the Board has balanced its adopted budgets with appropriations of fund balance and reserves, which has led to planned operating deficits from 2012-13 through 2014-15 and a $2.2 million decline in the general fund balance.
• The school lunch fund was not self-sufficient and required advances and subsidies from the general fund to finance its operations.
• The Board has not developed a multiyear financial plan to address the declining fund balance and to guide the use of the reserve funds.

Key Recommendations

• Carefully consider the amount of available fund balance and reserves appropriated to fund future budgets and ensure that a reasonable amount of unrestricted fund balance is retained.
• Take the necessary steps to ensure that the school lunch fund becomes self-sufficient, such as increasing revenue or cutting costs.
• Develop and periodically review a comprehensive multiyear financial plan to establish long-term objectives for funding long-term needs, provide a framework for future budgets and guide the District’s management of financial condition.