Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the District’s financial condition and extra-classroom activity (ECA) funds for the period July 1, 2015 through February 28, 2017.

Background

The Plainedge Union Free School District is located in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County. The District operates five schools and has approximately 3,025 students. Projected expenditures for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $84.4 million.

Key Findings

• District officials overestimated expenditures by a total of more than $15 million (6 percent) for fiscal years 2013-14 through 2015-16.
• Appropriated fund balance was not always needed to finance operations because the District had a total of $2.5 million in operating surpluses in two of the three subsequent fiscal years.
• The central treasurer did not issue pre-numbered duplicate receipts for all funds placed in her custody, and did not always deposit funds in a timely manner and sign school deposit forms.
• The Board did not appoint a faculty auditor to reconcile the central treasurer’s records with the ECA clubs’ records.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt budgets that include reasonable estimates for appropriations.
• Discontinue adopting budgets that result in the appropriation of fund balance that is not needed to fund District operations.
• Have the faculty advisors ensure that pre-numbered receipts are issued when funds are collected. If not practical, the Board should devise a method to document the amount expected to be realized in advance.
• Appoint a faculty auditor to reconcile the central treasurer’s books with the ECA clubs’ books.