New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following school district audits have been issued.

Canandaigua City School District – Procurement (Ontario County)

District officials did not always ensure the facilities and transportation departments’ goods and services were competitively procured. Auditors reviewed purchases totaling $2 million and found that district officials did not adequately seek competitive bids for purchases totaling $172,760 made from three vendors or comply with the district’s procedures for purchases from 16 vendors totaling $131,276 that were not subject to competitive bidding requirements. Officials also did not adequately monitor purchases made from a New York state contract, resulting in $2,182 being overpaid to the vendor.

Downsville Central School District – Claims Auditing (Delaware County)

The board and district officials did not always ensure claims were properly audited before payment. Auditors reviewed 150 claims packets totaling $870,798 and found claims totaling $700,507 were not properly audited. This included 69 claims, including credit card purchases, totaling $275,846 that were audited after the checks had cleared the bank. The claims auditor approved one claim packet totaling $13,613 which had previously been paid. Officials also did not obtain the minimum number of quotes for nine claims totaling $18,628.

Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District – Procurement of Goods and Services (Westchester County)

District officials did not ensure that goods and services were procured in the most cost-efficient manner or provide adequate oversight of awarded contracts. As a result, the district could have paid more than necessary for goods and services. District officials did not seek separate competition for all 35 public work projects for which multi-trade contracts were awarded, totaling almost $3.1 million, as required. Project proposals totaling almost $1.2 million lacked adequate detail or were not submitted to the director of facilities for approval. Payments to vendors totaling $1.3 million were not adequately supported or reviewed prior to payment.

Pearl River Union Free School District – Fixed Assets (Orange County)

Auditors selected 96 of the district’s fixed assets for review and concluded officials did not properly monitor and account for 70% of fixed assets reviewed totaling $546,527. This can be attributed to district officials not following board-adopted fixed asset policies. Auditors found that 21 fixed assets with a combined cost of $55,832 were not recorded on the inventory list. District officials were unable to locate 26 fixed assets with a combined cost of $57,516, and 31 fixed assets with a combined cost of $88,931 did not have the required asset tags. Another 35 fixed assets with a combined cost of $491,259 were disposed of without proper approval.

Pleasantville Union Free School District – Claims Auditing (Westchester County)

The board did not ensure the claims auditor was properly trained or had necessary access to district records for the claims auditor to effectively perform the board’s claims audit responsibilities. As a result, from the 100 claims selected for review, auditors determined claims were not always adequately supported or properly audited before payment. The claims auditor did not determine if claims were for valid district purchases, were billed correctly, or complied with the district’s procurement policy.