New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District, Glen Cove City School District, Valley Stream Union Free School District #24 and the York Central School District.

State Comptroller DiNapoli has made it a priority to audit school district, BOCES and charter school finances and operations to ensure money is being spent appropriately and effectively. The Comptroller’s audits are designed to help schools improve their financial management practices and ensure proper policies and procedures are in place to protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse. New York’s school districts annually spend approximately $60 billion in federal, state and local funds.

For additional background or a comment on a specific audit, please contact Brian Butry at 518-474-4015 or email: [email protected].

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District – Competitive Quotes (Suffolk County)

Auditors examined 20 claims totaling $269,495 to determine if district officials obtained competitive quotes in compliance with the district’s purchasing policy. Although the board generally ensured that district officials complied with the district’s procurement policy for purchases requiring quotes, officials could improve their purchasing process by attaching sufficient supporting documentation to claims when purchases are made from a government contract.

Glen Cove City School District – Portable Electronic Devices and Conflict of Interest (Nassau County)

There was no written policy for notifying the district’s information technology office of new hires, keeping track of equipment assigned to employees and collecting equipment when an employee leaves district employment. The district’s inventory of portable electronic devices lacked key information, such as date inventoried and purchased, and did not show all devices assigned to employees.

Valley Stream Union Free School District #24 – Leave Accruals and Separation Payments (Nassau County)

Auditors found district officials did not always account for employees’ leave accruals in accordance with applicable agreements. As a result, the district made separation overpayments of $14,971 during the audit period.

York Central School District – Online Banking (Livingston County)

The board adopted an online banking policy, but district officials did not develop written procedures for online banking activities. District officials also did not adequately segregate online banking duties and did not dedicate a separate computer for online transactions to limit access to online bank accounts.

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.