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Central Islip Union Free School
District
Report S8-5-11
10th Judicial
District |
This audit was 1 of 15 conducted to
determine whether District officials have established appropriate internal
controls over expenses incurred on behalf of School District managers and
members of the Board.
The audit found that the Board had not
established some critical written policies. The Board had not adopted a
credit card policy and $3,155 in charges by Board members could not be
supported and may represent Board members’ personal costs. The lack of a
travel policy resulted in lodging costs being incurred far in excess of
the federal per diem rate, and Board members staying extra days at
conferences. Board members were reimbursed for local mileage including for
commuting from their homes to Board meetings. There were no policies
regarding when it is appropriate to provide meals and refreshments to
employees attending School District meetings, to reimburse employees for
the business use of their personal telephones and internet access or when
it is appropriate to provide cell
phones.
The audit also noted weaknesses in the
internal claims audit process. The Business Administrator overrode the
internal claims auditor's decision to deny reimbursement for claims
submitted by Board members. In addition, the internal claims auditor
approved credit card claims that did not contain receipts or enough
information to determine if the charges represented actual and necessary
District expenses.
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recommendations
The report recommends that the Board
adopt written policies for travel related expenses, reimbursable telephone
and internet expenses, and cell phone usage. The Board should also approve
conference travel by Board members, review credit card charges identified
in the report to determine if they represent actual and necessary costs,
review the duplicate payment made to the former Superintendent, ensure all
benefits paid to employees are consistent with the terms of their
contracts and monitor compliance with the revised meal and refreshment
policy. Board members should also submit mileage claims that include
detailed information on the purpose of the trip.
The report also recommends that the
Superintendent and Board members submit detailed receipts and invoices to
support all credit card charges.
The report recommends the internal
claims auditor require that every claim contain enough supporting
documentation to determine it complies with District policies, and the
amounts represent actual and necessary expenses. Finally, the report
recommends that only the internal claims auditor should approve claims for
payment.
District officials did not specifically
respond to the recommendations. |
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$0
adjustment
This audit was 1 of 15 conducted to
determine whether District officials have established appropriate internal
controls over expenses incurred on behalf of School District managers and
members of the Board.
The audit did not identify any
significant exceptions with the District's administrative expenses. The
report did identify opportunities to improve policy, guidance, and
documentation requirements for certain expenditures.
The District did not have a written
policy governing cell phone usage. Similarly, there is no policy on the
appropriateness of providing meals at meetings and events. The
documentation supporting the expenses was not always sufficient.
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The recommendations are for the Board
and District managers to monitor compliance with recently enacted policies
regarding cell phone usage, and meals and refreshments provided at
meetings and events. The report also recommends that all claims for meals
and refreshments be adequately supported by documenta-tion.
District officials agree with the
recommendations. |
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Hempstead Union Free School District
Internal Controls
Report
2005M-62
10th Judicial
District |
$0
adjustment
The audit found that controls do not
exist over most District operations and that any number of District
employees can purchase supplies or services with no central oversight or
approval. District school buildings have closed or are in significant need
of repair, classrooms are overcrowded, and many students are housed in
inadequate, temporary classroom space.
Some
examples of poor controls identified in the report
include:
$2.3
million paid for leasing, installing and relocating portable classrooms
that are necessary because of the District’s failure to maintain and
provide adequate facilities for its students.
$1.1
million paid to three employment agencies for temporary
employees.
$900,000
paid on 18 professional service contracts that were awarded without
benefit of competitive proposals.
$117,145
paid to three Assistant Superintendents, a District Treasurer and a
District Clerk for accrued and unused leave time upon termination of
services with the District, even though there was no Board resolution
entitling them to such payment.
The report also cites instances of
excessive cell phone usage, credit card reimbursements without suf-ficient
documentation, and payment for personal expenses of District
officials.
The District did not maintain an
inventory system, used confirming purchase orders excessively, did not
adequately control cafeteria cash receipts, and did not record partial
absences on payroll records.
The report also cites the poor control
environment created by the Board.
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recommendations
The report recommends the Board adopt
proper policies to govern its own actions, require periodic reviews of
District buildings, address the lack of usable classrooms, take
appro-priate action to retain administrative personnel and approve budgets
on a timely basis.
The report further recommends the Board
examine the termination payments made to former officials. The Board
should make sure they were consistent with the provisions of their
employment contracts or Board resolutions, require advanced approval,
examine past termination payments and if inappropriate, take steps to
recover the funds.
The report also recommends the Board
adopt written policies for meals and refreshments at District meetings,
consider establishing maximum per diems for travel, and ensure a
cost-benefit assessment of cell phone use is
conducted.
The report recommends the internal
claims auditor require every claim contain supporting documentation to
determine it complies with District policy and procedure and the amount
represents actual and necessary District
expenses.
In regard to procurement of goods and
services, the report recommends limiting the use of confirming purchase
orders, requiring approval by the officer giving rise to the claim prior
to payment, preparing a cost-benefit analysis of hiring temporary
employees, entering into written agreements with all individuals providing
professional services, soliciting proposals from prospective vendors, and
ensuring that payments for services are not excessive.
The report contains recommenda-tions
for the Board to establish a comprehensive capital assets policy, ensure a
complete physical inventory of all capital assets is taken and compared to
asset records, investigate missing items identified in the audit,
establish policies and procedures to account for supplies, and establish
vehicle maintenance and repair records.
The report also recommends the use of
pre-numbered cash receipts forms, daily reconciliations of cafeteria
receipts, timely cash deposits and notifying all depository banks that
cash transfers can be made only with written
authorization.
Finally, the report recommends that
District officials establish procedures to ensure staff leave accrual
records are accurate.
District officials agree with the
recommendations and state that many were implemented prior to the issuance
of the final audit report.
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Syracuse City School District Health,
Dental and Vision Claims
Report
2005M-1
5th Judicial
District |
The
District's internal controls over its health, dental and vision benefits
were not appropriately designed and operating effectively to help ensure
that payments made to a third-party administrator were proper. The
District's claims auditor did not audit the third party administrator's
statements and check registers. District personnel were not aware of
certain charges on the administrator's documents, and did not possess the
detailed supporting records to test the validity of charges.
The District unknowingly paid 110
duplicate claims totaling $10,900, and nine vision claims totaling $1,172
for ineligible individuals.
Despite the internal control
weaknesses, the audit tests identified an extremely low error rate. For
example, the 110 claims represented only $10,900 out of $46.3 million in
claims paid, which is an overpayment of 0.02 percent.
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The report recommends the Board:
request more detailed information from the third-party administrator in
electronic format, establish a written policy to address the audit of the
third party administrator, ensure sufficient funds are on deposit to pay
claims promptly, require one or more District employees receive training
in the use and application of third party reports, and seek recovery of
any improperly paid claims.
School District officials generally
agreed with the recommendations and indicated they plan to take corrective
actions.
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The Greenburgh, Valhalla and
Eastchester School Districts and the Town of Eastchester Acquisition of
Athletic Fields
Report
2005-MR-8
9th Judicial
District |
In an attempt to acquire athletic
fields at no cost, the three Districts and the Town allowed dirt haulers
to dump construction and demolition (C&D) debris on their properties
in exchange for the dirt haulers’ renovating their athletic fields. The
audit estimates the dirt haulers saved between $7.4 million and $19.4
million. By accepting the C&D debris the Districts and Town
essentially operated solid-waste disposal facilities without meeting State
environmental requirements.
The debris was subsequently found to be
contaminated and the fields are therefore unusable until environmental
approval is obtained. The Eastchester District has already expended in
excess of $478,000 in remediation work. The auditors estimate the three
Districts and the Town could spend in excess of $2 million.
The three Districts generally avoided
seeking or obtaining taxpayer approval, did not comply with bidding
requirements, entered into impermissible equipment-lease agreements and
did not acquire appropriate approval and permits from State agencies. |
The report recommends that the Boards
of Education finance capital projects in accordance with pro-visions of
applicable statutes, establish policies and procedures to ensure
compliance with environ-mental laws, and continue their efforts to recoup
costs connected with the remediation and completion of the athletic
fields.
The report further recommends that the
Boards of Education ensure agreements for purchase and public works are
properly executed, require competitive bidding, and ensure District
officials consider all financing alternatives before entering into a
contract of significant dollar value.
The report also recommends the
Districts submit appropriate capital projects documentation to the
Department for approval and oversight, and establish procedures to ensure
voter approval for financing and expenditures of public
funds.
District officials did not specifically
address the recommendations. There is disagreement over the
character-ization of the material as C&D. There is also disagreement
on the need to obtain voter approval as well as the need to competitively
bid some of the work.
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State Education Department, New York
City Department of Education, and Erie
County
Administration of Payments for
Preschool Related Services and Special Education Itinerant Teachers
(SEIT)
Report 2003-S-39
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The New York City Department of
Education (NYCDOE) overpaid providers $731,000 because it used the wrong
payment rates in reconciling 2000-2001 payments
to
SEIT providers. In addition, the NYCDOE
and Erie County overpaid SEIT providers more than $358,000 and $17,000,
respectively, in the two years reviewed because the municipalities either
did not update enrollment-related data or did not verify that services
were actually provided.
The NYCDOE also improperly reconciled
$4 million in payments to another 13 providers before SED had posted final
SEIT session rates for 2000-2001. The report also identified instances in
which both municipalities paid for SEIT services when students were absent
for long periods (when teachers were on extended leave or unavailable) and
when providers delivered fewer or different services than IEPs
prescribed.
The audit also found providers billed
the NYCDOE for 62 related services sessions for absent students; for 271
individual sessions when they actually delivered group sessions; and 184
sessions where the clinicians provided related services to students at the
same time/day, even though the clinicians’ records showed they were at
different locations those days. Erie County also paid for related services
that were not provided, and for individual sessions that clinicians
delivered in a group format. Erie County and the NYCDOE paid for related
services that were not delivered, or were not delivered as prescribed,
because they did not verify that students actually received the services
for which payments were made. |
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Implementation of the RESCUE
Program
Report
2004-F-30 |
The
initial audit report, which was issued on September 19, 2003, examined the
Department’s efforts to promote districts’ preservation of their school
buildings and the appropriate use of State Building Aid. The audit found
the Department’s control system does not ensure that all districts have
developed adequate long-range facility preservation plans or building
condition Report Cards – two of the RESCUE program’s intended goals. The
audit also found that, because of limited monitoring, districts have
inappropriately claimed mainte-nance costs and other items when requesting
State Building Aid. The audit concluded that because of these weaknesses,
the benefits of the RESCUE program were limited and there was risk that
districts incorporated ineligible costs into capital projects funded with
State Building Aid.
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