New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following school audits were issued.

Amani Public Charter School – Purchasing and Claims Approval (Westchester County)

Since school officials did not procure goods and services in accordance with the established policy and procedures, there is no assurance that the purchases were made in the most prudent and economical manner without favoritism. Specifically, officials did not use competition for 18 purchases totaling $543,474 out of a sample of 21 totaling $763,413 required by school policy to be competitively purchased. Credit card charges were not supported by documentation, reviewed or approved as required. The director did not approve, and the board treasurer did not review any of the 35 charges tested, totaling $9,126. Also, 28 out of 35 charges (80%) totaling $7,627, were not supported by a receipt, a documented purpose or both. Officials did not use a purchase order for 23 purchases totaling $92,220 out of 24 tested totaling $93,865, as required by school policy. Officials also did not properly segregate procurement responsibilities. Auditors determined that overlapping and conflicting responsibilities enabled two directors to each control all aspects of the procurement process, including initiating a purchase request, approving the purchase, approving the invoice and signing checks for payment.

Sullivan West Central School District – Lead Testing and Reporting (Sullivan County)

District officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by state law and Department of Health regulations. Auditors determined 136 of the 410 (33%) water outlets identified at select areas, which students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by district officials. This occurred because district officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption. District officials also did not have a remedial action plan that detailed which water outlets were exempt from sampling and how they would be secured and what remedial actions were planned or enacted.

DeRuyter Central School District – Lead Testing and Reporting (Madison County)

District officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by state law and Department of Health (DOH) regulations. Auditors determined 38 of the 180 (21%) water outlets identified at select areas, which students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by district officials. This occurred because district officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption. While the former head of buildings and grounds did have a remedial action plan that showed which water outlets exceeded the lead action level and the remedial actions taken, it did not detail which water outlets they exempted from sampling and how they would be secured against use. Because there is no information on the lead levels of the 38 water outlets not sampled for testing, auditors were unable to determine whether officials identified and remediated all water outlets that would have required it. Of the 112 water outlets the district sampled for testing, 29 water outlets exceeded the lead action level. Auditors determined that eight of these 29 outlets (28%) with actionable lead levels were still in service without a test showing they were now below the lead action level or effective controls to prevent them from being used. District officials did not report any results to the local health department as required, including lead action exceedances, and reported results through the DOH’s reporting system 245 days after the required reporting deadline. Additionally, district officials did not have any documentation to support that they notified staff, parents and/or guardians of the test results in writing, as required. Finally, the officials did not post the test results of their potable water outlet sampling on the district’s website.

Island Trees Union Free School District – Inventorying and Monitoring Capital Assets (Nassau County)

District officials did not accurately and completely record and account for all capital assets reviewed (i.e., machinery, vehicles, equipment and computers). Additionally, officials have not conducted a physical inventory to properly monitor and account for assets since 2011. Therefore, officials cannot assure taxpayers that all of the district’s capital assets are safe and accounted for, and the district had significant risk for capital assets to be lost, stolen or misused. Auditors found 112 capital assets with an acquisition cost of $60,871 were not recorded on the district’s inventory list. Of the 7,229 capital assets on the district’s active and disposed inventory list, auditors reviewed 254 and found 195 (77%) were not properly accounted for or monitored. Another 21 assets with an acquisition cost of $16,931 and 48 information technology (IT) assets could not be located. The acquisition costs for the 48 IT assets were not recorded or available.

Truxton Academy Charter School – Tuition Billing and Collections (Cortland County)

Although school officials accurately billed and collected basic tuition totaling $2.14 million, officials overbilled school districts of residence $84,689 for state aid attributable to students receiving special education services from 2022-23 through 2023-24. These findings occurred because school officials did not follow State Education Department guidance for calculating state aid, did not always maintain necessary documentation to support calculations of the amounts billed or ensure billings were accurate, and did not establish adequate procedures for tuition billing.

Avoca Central School District – Payroll (Steuben County)

District officials generally paid employees’ salaries and wages accurately during the period July 1, 2022 through Oct. 10, 2024. Auditors reviewed 35 employees’ salaries and wage payments totaling $417,720 and determined that officials generally paid employees’ salaries and wages accurately during the period. However, auditors determined that district officials did not adequately segregate duties or establish mitigating controls over payroll processing.

Avoca Central School District – Procurement (Steuben County)

District officials did not always procure goods and services in accordance with the statutory requirements set forth in state law or with the district’s procurement policies and procedures. District officials also did not develop procedures governing the procurement of goods and services not subject to state competitive bidding laws as required by the district’s procurement policy that was last approved by the board in 2017. In addition, district officials did not aggregate purchases to determine whether certain procurements were subject to the competitive bidding requirements set forth in state law.