[read complete report – pdf] | [read complete 2022 report – pdf] 

Purpose of Review

The purpose of our review was to assess Wheelerville Union Free School District’s (District) progress, as of May 2026, in implementing our recommendations in the audit report Wheelerville Union Free School District – Unused IT Asset Inventory (2022M-2), released in May 2022.

The audit determined District officials needed to strengthen controls over unused information technology (IT) assets by improving policies and procedures, maintaining complete inventory records, conducting periodic physical inventories, ensuring proper disposal practices and safeguarding unused equipment. As a result of the lack of controls and officials not clearly defining the responsibility for physically safeguarding unused IT assets, there is an increased risk that unused IT assets could be stolen or inadvertently misused or accessed by unauthorized individuals. We found that: 

• Officials did not maintain IT asset inventory records and, as a result, were unable to conduct necessary physical inventories. 
• Officials stored unused IT assets in an unsecured area and an unlocked cabinet in a classroom and did not track or monitor who accessed the equipment. We also observed obsolete unused IT equipment that had not been sanitized of data prior to storage. 
• We were unable to identify 354 unused IT assets (91 percent) on inventory records. We identified 70 unused IT assets that were at high risk of potential theft and misuse of personal, private or sensitive information, or unauthorized access to the network.

The audit report included six recommendations directed to District officials that focused on improving accountability over IT assets and reducing the risk of loss, theft, misuse or unauthorized disclosure of data.

Background

The District serves the Town of Caroga in Fulton County and is governed by an elected five-member elected Board of Education (Board) is responsible for the general management and control of financial and educational affairs. The Superintendent of Schools is the chief executive officer and, along with other administrative staff, is responsible for day-to-day management under the Board’s direction. The Board appointed two faculty members as technology integration specialists, responsible for issuing new IT assets and storing the new unused IT assets. The District also contracts with the Northeastern Regional Information Center (NERIC) for IT support, including weekly site visits to assist with technical issues not handled by the specialists.

Results of Review

Of the audit’s six recommendations in the 2022 report, we determined District officials fully implemented one recommendation regarding physically safeguarding unused IT assets. However, District officials did not fully implement the other five recommendations regarding improving policies and procedures, maintaining complete inventory records, conducting periodic physical inventories and ensuring proper disposal practices.