[read complete report – pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the East Meadow Union Free School District (District) officials properly approved, monitored and controlled the Facilities and Operations Department (Department) overtime.

Key Findings

District officials did not properly approve, monitor and control overtime worked by Department employees. The Department’s overtime costs were 97 percent of the District’s total overtime costs during our audit period. We reviewed $381,878 (29 percent) and found that:

• Department employees were paid $194,514 for overtime worked up to 20 days without supervisory approval.
• District officials paid $31,486 for 605 hours of overtime worked without supervisory approval.
• District officials exceeded the Department’s overtime budget from 2018-19 through 2021-22 by $1,107,396.
• District officials did not ensure that written approval was obtained before all overtime was worked; therefore, employees may have worked unnecessary overtime. As a result, the increased overtime will also increase the amount owed by the District annually to the State, for its share of the cost of the employees’ retirement benefits.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure all non-emergency overtime is preapproved in writing, properly documented and monitored.
• Adopt a realistic Department overtime budget and monitor it throughout the year.

District officials disagreed with certain findings in our report. Appendix C includes our comments on issues officials raised in their response.