New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the East Greenbush Central School District, East Rockaway Union Free School District, Honeoye Central School District, Jefferson Central School District, Keene Central School District, Lansing Central School District, Otego-Unadilla Central School District and the Royalton-Hartland Central School District.

“In an era of limited resources and increased accountability, it’s critical that schools make every dollar count,” DiNapoli said. “By auditing school district and charter school finances and operations, my office continues to provide taxpayers the assurance that their money is being spent appropriately and effectively.”

East Greenbush Central School District – Claims Processing (Rensselaer County)

District officials have established effective procedures to ensure claims are adequately documented and supported, for legitimate district purposes and approved prior to payment.

East Rockaway Union Free School District – Purchasing (Nassau County)

District officials did not always use competition when making purchases and procuring professional services. In addition, the district did not always have written agreements with service providers.

Honeoye Central School District – Payroll (Ontario County)

District officials did not adequately segregate payroll duties or establish sufficient compensating controls. The payroll clerk performed all steps in the payroll process, including adding employees and entering and modifying employee information in the district’s accounting software program.

Jefferson Central School District – Fund Balances (Delaware County)

District officials do not have long-term plans for reserve balance levels or usage. The reserves for retirement contributions, compensated absences and unemployment insurance, with balances totaling $592,843, appear to be overfunded.

Keene Central School District – Claims Processing (Essex County)

District officials established effective procedures that ensure claims are audited in a timely manner and in accordance with district policy.

Lansing Central School District – Financial Management (Tompkins County)

Total fund balance increased by more than $1 million from 2012-13 to 2014-15 and unassigned fund balance exceeded the statutory limit. Budgeted appropriations during this period exceeded actual expenditures by an average of more than 4 percent per year.

Otego-Unadilla Central School District – Financial Condition (Otsego County)

Recurring revenues are not sufficient to finance recurring expenditures. From 2012-13 through 2014-15, expenditure growth outpaced revenue growth by 20 percent.

Royalton-Hartland Central School District – Financial Condition (Niagara County)

District officials have not properly managed fund balance. As a result, unrestricted fund balance has consistently exceeded statutory limits. As of June 30, 2015, the district’s unrestricted fund balance was $4.2 million, approximately $3.3 million over the allowable limit.

For access to state and local government spending and nearly 50,000 state contracts, visit OpenBookNY. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.