New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District, Ellenville Central School District, Lake Pleasant Central School District, Mount Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District and the Pelham Union Free 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.”

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District – Leave Accruals and Separation Payments (Saratoga County)

District officials properly accounted for employee leave accruals and made accurate separation payments and service credits to employees based on the applicable collective bargaining agreements or individual employment contracts.

Ellenville Central School District – Financial Condition (Ulster County)

The board adopted budgets which overestimated expenditures by more than $11 million over a three-year period. During this time, the board appropriated almost $14.7 million of fund balance, most of which was not used. As a result, the district’s actual fund balance ranged between 9.2 percent and 13.5 percent, which is in excess of the legal 4 percent limit.

Lake Pleasant Central School District – Payroll (Hamilton County)

District officials have established adequate procedures to ensure employees are accurately compensated. Auditors did not find any errors or other exceptions with the calculation of wages and salaries for employees.

Mount Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District – Short-Term Borrowing and Purchasing (Westchester County)

Since 2012-13, the district has had sufficient cash flow and did not need to use any revenue anticipation note proceeds to fund its short-term cash needs. Therefore, the district could have saved $43,270 in short-term borrowing costs. In addition, district officials need to issue purchase orders in a timely manner.

Pelham Union Free School District – Reserve Funds (Westchester County)

The board approved a five-year plan beginning in 2012-13 to reduce the retirement contribution reserve account by appropriating approximately $1.7 million in excess funds to support the district’s operating budget and normalize future tax levy increases.

For access to state and local government spending and 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.