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Audit Objective

Determine whether Greene Central School District (District) officials ensured leave accruals were accurate and payments for unused leave and separation payments were authorized and calculated correctly.

Key Findings

Officials did not ensure that leave accruals were accurate or payments for unused leave and separation payments were authorized and calculated correctly. District officials:

• Made errors in 76 percent of District employees’ accrued leave calculations, resulting in 251 employees’ leave balances being credited either for 132 days over what they were entitled to or 2,712 days less than what they were entitled to.
• Incorrectly calculated 61 percent of the unused vacation leave, sick leave and retirement incentive payments made during the audit period. Of the 38 payments totaling approximately $270,000 we reviewed, 23 had errors totaling $8,530, including $4,900 in payments for unused vacation leave which were not authorized by the employees’ collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).

Key Recommendations

• Independently review and approve all unused leave and separation payments to help ensure they are accurately calculated, supported and disbursed in accordance with CBAs and employment contracts (contracts).
• Consult with legal counsel about recovering payments that are inconsistent with the CBAs, contracts or any other applicable laws.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have begun to initiate corrective action.