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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Wynantskill Union Free School District (District) sought competition when purchasing goods and services that fell below the statutory bidding thresholds.

Key Findings

District officials could not always support competition was sought when purchasing goods and services that fell below the statutory bidding thresholds. Officials did not:

• Develop clear guidance in procedures to seek competition for purchasing goods and services that were not required to be competitively bid.
• Follow the District’s purchasing policy for 25 purchases (83 percent) totaling $53,883.
• Adequately document they sought competition for 17 purchases totaling $27,231. Further, contract award and pricing information was lacking on seven purchases made through State contract vendors, and the District should have paid $1,028 less for three purchases.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure procedures are updated to define clear expectations for procuring goods and services below bidding thresholds.
• Maintain adequate documentation to support that employees use competitive purchasing practices.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated, or indicated they planned to initiate, corrective action.